"Badla, Not Badlav": Punjab Congress Attacks AAP Over MLA Sukhpal Khaira's Arrest Soon After Bail In Narcotics Case

On Thursday (4 January), Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira was granted bail by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in a case involving the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and the Arms Act. Nonetheless, before his release from jail could be finalised, he was arrested once again in a new case by the Punjab police.

This case was recorded at the Subhanpur police station, falling under sections 195A, which pertains to threatening someone to provide false evidence, and 506, concerning criminal intimidation, as per the Indian Penal Code.

Reacting to the fresh FIR against Khaira, Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring posted on X, “The recent FIR against @SukhpalKhaira is a proof that the @AAPPunjab govt is doing vendetta politics. The FIR has been registered just to harass him even further. This is not Badlaav… this is Badla!”.

Previously, when approving his bail request, Justice Anoop Chitkara's bench stated that Khaira's arrest was primarily based on the evidence from the calls he made to his personal security officer, personal assistant, and a UK-based handler, along with unaccounted money associated with the drug trade.

The court stated that the detention and questioning of Khaira did not result in the discovery of any additional damning evidence, Indian Express reported.

The court further ordered Khaira to relinquish all weapons, firearms, and ammunition he may possess, together with his arms license.