Former Enforcement Directorate Deputy Director Niranjan Singh, who investigated several high-profile drug and money-laundering cases in Punjab, Wednesday joined the Akali Dal Waris Punjab De ahead of the Assembly elections due early next year. Former Punjab Police Deputy Superintendent of Police Balwinder Singh Sekhon also joined the party at an event at the Chandigarh Press Club. The two were inducted in the presence of Dakha MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali, Tarsem Singh, father of jailed Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh, and Faridkot MP Sarabjit Singh Khalsa.
Drugs, corruption behind move
Explaining his decision to enter politics, Niranjan expressed concern over Punjab’s drug problem, corruption and law-and-order situation. He said successive governments had failed to adequately address these issues. Niranjan said he believed Akali Dal Waris Punjab De was serious about tackling the drug menace, an issue with which he had been closely associated during his career in the Enforcement Directorate.
Asked whether he intended to contest the coming Assembly elections, the former ED officer said he had not yet thought about entering the electoral fray. His induction came a day after Ayali and Tarsem Singh met him at his residence in Jalandhar. Party leaders said his experience investigating drug-related cases would strengthen the organisation.
Niranjan also weighed in on allegations that central investigating agencies were sometimes used by governments for political purposes. Asked about the alleged misuse of agencies, including the ED, he said there was no government that did not misuse them “a little bit”.
Probed Bhola drug case
Niranjan retired from government service in May 2021 after a career during which he handled several major investigations in Punjab. He rose to prominence as an investigating officer in the multi-crore Jagdish Singh Bhola drug racket case, in which the ED investigated the alleged money-laundering trail connected with the narcotics network.
During the investigation, he questioned senior political figures, including former Punjab ministers Bikram Singh Majithia and Sarwan Singh Phillaur, in connection with the case. Niranjan was transferred from Jalandhar to Kolkata in January 2015 while working on the investigation. The transfer became controversial and was subsequently stayed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, allowing him to continue with the probe. He later rose to the rank of Deputy Director in the Enforcement Directorate and remained outspoken on Punjab’s drug problem even after his retirement.
Waris Punjab De expands ranks
Sekhon’s entry alongside Niranjan adds another former law-enforcement official to Akali Dal Waris Punjab De as the party prepares for the Assembly elections.
Welcoming the two, Ayali said Niranjan’s induction would strengthen the party and highlighted his record of working against the drug menace.
Akali Dal Waris Punjab De is led by Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh, who is currently lodged in jail in Assam in connection with the 2023 Ajnala police station attack case. The party has been seeking to expand its organisation ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections, with drugs, law and order and corruption expected to figure prominently in its campaign.
Niranjan’s entry gives the party a figure closely associated with some of Punjab’s most prominent drug-related investigations over the past decade. For now, however, he has stopped short of confirming whether his move into politics will also involve contesting an Assembly seat.