CHANDIGARH, DEC 1 — Punjab’s Vigilance Bureau has arrested liquor contractor Harpreet Singh Gulati, calling him a key conduit in what it described as illegal financial routes supporting former Shiromani Akali Dal minister Bikramjit Singh Majithia. Gulati, a long-time associate of the politician, has now been named a co-accused in the disproportionate assets (DA) case.
Officials said Gulati managed unaccounted transactions between Majithia and liquor companies — Akash Spirits, UV Enterprises and AD Enterprises — and helped channel funds into properties allegedly owned by the politician in Shimla and Delhi. “These were not part of his declared income,” the vigilance stated. Gulati was produced before a magistrate on Sunday and given six days’ police custody.
The bureau said both men benefitted from a “quid pro quo” relationship that began when the Akali government came to power in 2007. A spokesperson said the liquor sector was “captured by political interests”, and Gulati’s business grew rapidly as Majithia expanded his assets.
Records cited by investigators say Gulati’s firms obtained liquor licences from 2008 “at Majithia’s instance” and transferred ₹4.25 crore in 2008–09, ₹1.4 crore in 2009–10 and ₹5.49 crore in 2014–15 to entities linked to Majithia, covering loan repayments and property purchases. “We have traced around ₹10 crore so far,” the bureau said.
In a related development, the vigilance has moved a Mohali court to declare Majithia’s brother-in-law, Gajpat Singh Grewal, a fugitive. The petition said repeated notices were issued at his Sangrur home and New Delhi properties, but he did not appear. The matter comes up for hearing on Monday.
The bureau alleges Majithia accumulated over ₹700 crore in assets, about 1,200% higher than his lawful income, with ₹540 crore said to stem from laundering of “drug money” tied to a 2013 trafficking network. The investigation draws from a 2018 STF report and a continuing SIT probe linked to a 2021 NDPS case.
Majithia was arrested in June after statewide raids and is currently in judicial custody at Nabha jail following the rejection of his bail plea.
