Mohali (Punjab): A Mohali court has sentenced Jagdish Singh Bhola, a former Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and kingpin of a major drug racket, to 10 years in prison in a high-profile money laundering case. The court also imposed a fine of ₹50,000 on Bhola, with the stipulation that failure to pay the fine could result in an additional year of imprisonment.
The court found Bhola and 16 other accused guilty in a case involving drug trafficking estimated at around ₹6,000 crore. Out of the original 23 accused, four have died, and two are on run. The court sentenced Bhola, along with co-accused Manpreet, Sukhraj, Sukhjit Sukh, and Maninder, to 10 years each. Bhola’s wife, Gurpreet Kaur, was sentenced to 3 years.
In addition to Bhola and his wife, other accomplices named in the charge sheet received varying sentences. Seven individuals were sentenced to four years each, five to five years, and one woman and an elderly accused to three years each under different sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Bhola, who previously served as a DSP in Punjab Police and is also a former wrestler with Asian Games, was arrested in November 2013. Following his arrest, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigated him for money laundering in connection with the drug case involving him and his associates. Bhola had previously been sentenced to 24 years in prison by a special CBI court in Mohali for three separate drug trafficking cases.