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Keywords: Prakash Singh Badal, Chetan Gupta

New Delhi: The man in the eye of the storm of hawala operations has finally responded to the charges against him. In an exclusive telephonic interview to CNN-IBN, former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh defended his family and himself, claiming that Chetan Gupta was not a hawala operator.

“I know him. I know his family for several generations. I have known his father and grandfather personally,” says Amarinder.

Singh accused the Punjab government of trying to make a false case against him.

“You tried to rope my finance minister who knows nothing about it. You thrashed my media advisor who knows nothing about. Chetan Gupta was thrashed badly by police and made to sign. My media advisor was also tortured. Vigilance is an instrument of the state and it is Badal (Prakash Singh) and his son Sukhbir who are pushing this case. Everybody has given their statements,” says Amarinder.

“The Enforcement Directorate has gone into the whole business. There has been a double bench of the Punjab High Court, which has sat on this and has given a 160-page judgement on it, saying that this is all a fraud and politically motivated case. And now when all that has happened, suddenly the issue comes up, I don't understand the sense,” adds Amarinder.

Singh also insisted that the documents on the pen drive could not be relied upon.

“There is no such thing as a Punjab Internet. The fact is his pen drive or software or whatever was picked up. After coming out of police custody, Mr Gupta has told the court that he was made to sign statements, which he had not read. He was made to sign on blank papers and his entire software was taken away and he didn't know where it had gone. You give me a pen drive and I will give it to a software company and put the entire Badal family into it. What is the big deal in this,” says Amarinder.

The former Army Captain, his wife and son have been granted bail by the Punjab High Court in the Ludhiana City Centre scam case until July 31. With the Vigilance Department's sights set firmly on him, Amarinder's trials have only just begun.