Ex-ED deputy director who probed Bhola drug case to join Amritpal's party today
Chandigarh: Former Enforcement Directorate (ED) deputy director Niranjan Singh , who was at the centre of the agency’s investigation into the multi-crore synthetic drug racket in Punjab, is set to join jailed MP Amritpal Singh-led Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) in Chandigarh on Wednesday.
Niranjan shot into prominence during the investigation into the Jagdish Singh Bhola drug case , in which the ED was probing the money-laundering trail linked to the drug racket. As the investigating officer, he had questioned former Punjab revenue minister Bikram Singh Majithia in Dec 2014.
His subsequent transfer from Jalandhar to Kolkata in Jan 2015 triggered a legal battle and was challenged in Punjab and Haryana high court by the Lawyers for Human Rights International (LHRI). The court stayed the transfer, allowing him to continue with the probe. He retired on May 31, 2021.
Niranjan told TOI on Tuesday, “I have decided to join Akali Dal Waris Punjab De since earlier govts led by SAD-BJP, Congress and AAP have failed on the issues of corruption, law and order and drugs. People have seen these parties. They are incompetent.”
Akali Dal Waris Punjab De leadership, including Amritpal’s father Tarsem Singh and Dakha MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali, met him at his Jalandhar residence on Tuesday. There is a buzz that Akali Dal Waris Punjab De may field him from Kartarpur. “I have not yet decided to contest. Party has not said any such thing to me nor I have said anything regarding this to the party,” Niranjan said.
His entry into the political arena comes at a time when the drug problem is once again emerging as a major issue in poll-bound Punjab.
Among other cases handled by Niranjan was the Raja Kandola case, which ED took up in 2012 following drug-related FIRs registered by the Punjab Police.
According to Niranjan, the ED investigations handled by him led to 25 convictions.
From assistant director, he rose to the rank of ED deputy director in Oct 2016. He resigned from the ED in 2018 reportedly over not being given a free hand in the probe arising out of the Bhola drug racket case, but withdrew the resignation in about a week’s time.
Even after leaving the agency, Singh continued to remain vocal on Punjab’s drug problem and the investigations arising from the old case. In June 2025, he appeared before Punjab Vigilance Bureau and recorded his statement in connection with the case against Majithia.
Dismissed Punjab Police deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Balwinder Singh Sekhon , who is also set to join the party on Wednesday, is known to have routinely locked horns with the state’s political and judicial establishments. He first made headlines in 2019 after authoring an inquiry report that indicted former Congress minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu in a Ludhiana housing project scam, an action that resulted in an explosive public feud, Sekhon’s suspension, and his eventual dismissal from service in 2021. Sekhon later turned to social media activism, which culminated in a high-profile arrest and a six-month jail sentence for contempt of court in 2023 after he uploaded highly defamatory videos targeting Punjab and Haryana high court judges who were presiding over drug-related cases.
He contested the 2022 Punjab election as an independent from Ludhiana West to “expose Ashu”, but polled only 453 votes, forfeiting his security deposit. AAP’s Gurpreet Gogi won, with Ashu ending up as runner-up in that election. His audios of alleged abusive verbal exchanges with Ashu had also gone viral.
Niranjan shot into prominence during the investigation into the Jagdish Singh Bhola drug case , in which the ED was probing the money-laundering trail linked to the drug racket. As the investigating officer, he had questioned former Punjab revenue minister Bikram Singh Majithia in Dec 2014.
His subsequent transfer from Jalandhar to Kolkata in Jan 2015 triggered a legal battle and was challenged in Punjab and Haryana high court by the Lawyers for Human Rights International (LHRI). The court stayed the transfer, allowing him to continue with the probe. He retired on May 31, 2021.
Niranjan told TOI on Tuesday, “I have decided to join Akali Dal Waris Punjab De since earlier govts led by SAD-BJP, Congress and AAP have failed on the issues of corruption, law and order and drugs. People have seen these parties. They are incompetent.”
Akali Dal Waris Punjab De leadership, including Amritpal’s father Tarsem Singh and Dakha MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali, met him at his Jalandhar residence on Tuesday. There is a buzz that Akali Dal Waris Punjab De may field him from Kartarpur. “I have not yet decided to contest. Party has not said any such thing to me nor I have said anything regarding this to the party,” Niranjan said.
His entry into the political arena comes at a time when the drug problem is once again emerging as a major issue in poll-bound Punjab.
Among other cases handled by Niranjan was the Raja Kandola case, which ED took up in 2012 following drug-related FIRs registered by the Punjab Police.
According to Niranjan, the ED investigations handled by him led to 25 convictions.
From assistant director, he rose to the rank of ED deputy director in Oct 2016. He resigned from the ED in 2018 reportedly over not being given a free hand in the probe arising out of the Bhola drug racket case, but withdrew the resignation in about a week’s time.
Even after leaving the agency, Singh continued to remain vocal on Punjab’s drug problem and the investigations arising from the old case. In June 2025, he appeared before Punjab Vigilance Bureau and recorded his statement in connection with the case against Majithia.
Dismissed Punjab Police deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Balwinder Singh Sekhon , who is also set to join the party on Wednesday, is known to have routinely locked horns with the state’s political and judicial establishments. He first made headlines in 2019 after authoring an inquiry report that indicted former Congress minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu in a Ludhiana housing project scam, an action that resulted in an explosive public feud, Sekhon’s suspension, and his eventual dismissal from service in 2021. Sekhon later turned to social media activism, which culminated in a high-profile arrest and a six-month jail sentence for contempt of court in 2023 after he uploaded highly defamatory videos targeting Punjab and Haryana high court judges who were presiding over drug-related cases.
He contested the 2022 Punjab election as an independent from Ludhiana West to “expose Ashu”, but polled only 453 votes, forfeiting his security deposit. AAP’s Gurpreet Gogi won, with Ashu ending up as runner-up in that election. His audios of alleged abusive verbal exchanges with Ashu had also gone viral.
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