ED officer Niranjan Singh withdraws his resignation

Nearly a week after Enforcement Directorate (ED) deputy director Niranjan Singh tendered resignation three years before the end of his service, the officer has withdrawn his resignation.

Niranjan, who was posted at ED’s Punjab head office in Jalandhar, had tendered his resignation to the national director of the central agency through Jalandhar office head Girish Bali on October 5.

Even as he denied having withdrawn his resignation on Thursday, he confirmed the development on Friday.

On Thursday, Niranjan had told the Punjab and Haryana high court that he quit his job out of ‘frustration’ as he was not allowed to proceed against Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and former revenue minister Bikram Singh Majithia in the Jagdish Bhola drug racket case.

Singh had been probing the high-profile multi-crore Bhola drug racket case and had also questioned Majithia.

Niranjan, who was made the investigating officer in the case in 2014, had questioned Majithia in December 2014, a few months after drug lord Jagdish Bhola named the Akali leader in the case.

Two main accused in the case — Maninder Singh, alias Bittu Aulakh, and Amritsar-based businessman Jagjit Singh Chahal — had also named Majithia, who is the brother of Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Union minister and wife of Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal.

Twenty days after he questioned Majithia, Niranjan was transferred to Kolkata on January 16, 2015. The Punjab and Haryana high court later revoked his transfer.

Despite the pressure, Niranjan re-summoned Majithia in June 2016 to which the former minister had filed a written reply and did not appear in person.

Over 70 persons were charge-sheeted, including Bhola, former Akali minister (who is now in the Congress) Sarwan Singh Phillaur, his son Damanvir Singh, former Akali MLA Avinash Chandar, Bittu Aulakh and Chahal, during the probe in the case spanning four years.