Court frames charges against drug kingpin Bhola and others

A court here today framed charges against former police officer Jagdish Bhola and eight others in the multi-crore synthetic drug scam case.
Bhola, a former Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), is considered to be the kingpin of synthetic drug racket. The court, however, released NRI drug dealer Anoop Singh Kahlon, who had been arrested in March last year.
The charges were framed in the court of the Additional District and Sessions judge (Senior Division) of Mohali Parminder Pal Singh.
The judge framed the charges under sections 379 (punishment for theft), 411 (dishonestly receiving stolen property), 473 (forgery), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine forged document) and 120 (conspiracy) of IPC.

Charges were also framed under the the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and the Arms Act.
The next date of the hearing in this case has been fixed for August 25. Now the trial will start in this case.

All the accused -- Bhola, Manjinder Singh Aulakh alias Bittu, Baljinder Singh Sonu, Sarabjit Singh Saba, Jagjit Singh Chahal, Satinder Singh Dhama, Anup Singh Kahlon, Paramjit Singh Pamma and Surjit Singh -- were present in the court.
Bhola was arrested by Patiala police from Haryana-Delhi border last year. Police had recovered a large quantity of drugs worth several crores from him.

Meanwhile, Bhola's father Balshinder Singh has moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court demanding a CBI inquiry into the case, as he alleged that he has no faith in the Punjab Police and his son has been framed by the police.
The high court has fixed August 28 as the date of the hearing.