CHANDIGARH: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday got three-day police remand of Jagjit Singh Chahal, one of the main accused in the Rs 6,000 crore synthetic drug case. The agency has already attached property worth Rs 65 crore belonging to Chahal.
The ED, which had on Monday arrested Chahal from Mohali court premises, produced him in a special court in Patiala on Tuesday and got his police remand till May 18.
He was arrested by the ED under Prevention of Money Laundering Act. He had come to Mohali court to appear for the case already registered against him by the Punjab Police in this multi-crore drug racket.
Chahal, a businessman hailing from Amritsar, had got bail in the police case from the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
“We are investigating the trail of money within the country and from abroad, especially Canada,’’ said an officer, adding that Chahal would be questioned by the sleuths of the agency as he had been summoned many times before but he did not turn up, forcing them to arrest him.
Chahal owns three pharmaceutical companies in Himachal Pradesh, which include MBP Pharmaceuticals and Montek Bio Pharma in Baddi and Tulip Formulations in Damtal. It is alleged that in his units ephedrine meant for
making medicines was diverted to manufacture Ice (synthetic drug). During his interrogation by the police earlier he had reportedly told the police and ED that he had paid Rs 35 lakh to Bikram Majithia, a former cabinet minister, as election fund.
Four years back, Chahal was arrested by the Punjab Police along with Manjinder Singh alias Bittu Aulakh, the other main accused in Jagdish Bhola drug case. Drugs worth Rs 5.3 crores were then seized from them.
The ED had already attached the properties of more than a dozen accused worth Rs 182 crore in this case.