SAD blows lid off multi- hundred crore illegal sand mining racket being run by CM

(Bikram S Majithia gives evidence of nexus between CM and his nephew Honey from whom recoveries of Rs 10 crore were made)

(Demands CBI inquiry into illegal mining being done in CM’s home constituency Chamkaur Sahib, including that on forest land)

(Says probe should also ascertain how the proceeds of this crime were being distributed, including to the AICC)

Chandigarh, January 22 – The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today while exposing a multi-hundred crore sand mining racket being run by chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi through a sting operation, demanded a CBI probe into illegal mining in Channi’s home constituency of Chamkaur Sahib including that on forest land.

Senior SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia while blowing the lid off the multi- hundred crore scam along with audio- recordings which directly implicate the chief minister, said only an impartial probe could reveal the extent to which the chief minister and his family had looted the State exchequer through his personal illegal sand mining mafia. “The total loot by Channi in his 111 day tenure will be more than Rs 1,111 crore”.

The recordings prove the close nexus between the chief minister and his nephew Bhupinder Honey from whom the ED recovered Rs 10 crore in cash and gold recently and prove they were partners in the illegal sand mining business. They also disprove Mr Channi’s assertions that he did not know about the activities of his nephew.

In a sensational disclosure, Mr Bikram Majithia also released audio recordings of the chief minister’s closest aide and Salapur village Sarpanch Iqbal Singh and his son Binder in which they detailed the entire illegal sand mining operation being run with the chief minister’s blessings. The audio- recordings, which were done by one Darshan Singh who had befriended members of the sand mafia to expose them, even has Iqbal saying the chief minister had told him not to fear anything and even do mining on forest land. It also gave an account of how a forest guard was brow beaten into silence. The recordings show that the mafia was also using boats and fork lifts to mine sand from the river bed.

As per the audio recordings, Iqbal Singh said the concerned DFO had told him to give his number to all the drivers and that he would personally ensure they would not have any problem in mining sand on forest land. It also disclosed that out of the total sand being quarried as much as Rs 1.50 per cubic feet was going to Channi. The recordings revealed that one Rakesh Chaudhary of Jammu was the king pin behind the mafia.

Asserting that the recordings proved that Channi, Congress and Corruption were synonymous with each other, Mr Majithia said “it is also certain that the proceeds of this illegal activity were going to the AICC and this was why the Congress high command as well as leaders like Harish Chaudhary were trying to save Channi by asserting that he was being victimised. He said the very fact that the Congress party came out in defense of Bhupinder Honey, the CM’s nephew who was running the illegal mining racket, proved that Honey and Channi were using money to purchase patronage from the AICC. “This angle should also be probed thoroughly”, he added.

Majithia while showing Honey’s proximity to Channi through various photographs on official pages, said Honey had even been provided black cat commandos and a gypsy escort vehicle. He also showed pictures to prove Honey was using a vehicle with an MLA sticker pasted on it.

Asserting that with the chief minister also holding charge of the mining and environment departments this was a case of conflict of interest and Mr Channi did not have any moral right to continue in office.