New Delhi/Chadigarh: The CBI has registered a corruption case against Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s OSD Rajbir Ghuman and his associates on the High Court’s orders for allegedly influencing the posting of IAS and IPS officers in return for pecuniary advantage and raided eight locations linked to Ghuman and other accused persons, officials said Tuesday.
Chief Minister Mann claimed that the CBI conducted searches at his “camp office”.
However, CBI sources clarified that there was no raid on the “Chief Minister’s Office” and that searches took place at one of the ‘kothis’ being used by the OSD.
Bhaghwat Mann reacted to the CBI action in an X post. “The BJP has started preparing for the Punjab elections. A CBI raid was conducted at my camp office. Now, the ED and CBI will be misused in Punjab to defame the Punjab government and me. The BJP is rattled by the love and support I am receiving from the people,” he said.
The CBI said on Tuesday that it has registered an FIR against six people, including two public servants, middlemen and associates — Rajbir Ghuman, OSD to Punjab CM, Nitin Gohal, Jitin Gohal alias Raja, Romi Raja Mahajan, and others.
The probe agency said it carried out searches at eight locations, including Chandigarh, Mohali, Gurdaspur, Ludhiana, Patiala, Sangrur and Jalandhar at premises connected with the accused persons.
What is the case?
The case pertains to the Enforcement Directorate (ED)’s allegations of high-level corruption in the Punjab government. During a hearing on Monday, the Punjab and Haryana had ordered the CBI to probe the claims.
It had particularly raised objections over Rajbir Singh Ghuman not being associated with the Punjab Police’s preliminary inquiry despite being one of the key persons named in the ED material.
The High Court, acting on a PIL filed by advocate Nikhil Saraf, observed that the material placed before it disclosed cognizable offences and ordered a probe, directing the Punjab government and state police to assist the central agency.
The Punjab government has moved the Supreme Court against the order.
The ED’s allegations remain under investigation and are not findings of guilt. The matter is listed for later in the week.
ED’s allegations against Mann’s OSD Rajbir Ghuman
The ED has alleged that a man named Nitin Gohal acted as a middleman between people wanting government favours and OSD Rajbir Ghuman. The alleged favours included transfers, access to confidential government documents and help in getting arms licences.
Gohal was raided by the ED in connection with a money-laundering probe into alleged irregularities in Change of Land Use (CLU) approvals and suspicious sale transactions linked to companies under the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA).
The ED has shared its findings with the Punjab DGP.
However, when no FIR was registered, advocate Nikhil Saraf filed a plea in the High Court.
What did the High Court say?
During the hearing, a bench of Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor said the ED’s material, at first look, pointed to serious offences involving a high public office.
It also questioned how slowly the police had acted. Only a preliminary inquiry was held after the ED shared its information on August 3. The police also cited the need for legible copies of the ED’s documents as a reason for the delay. The court noted that Ghuman himself had not been called to take part in the inquiry.
The court concluded that the material called for an FIR and a proper investigation, not a continued preliminary inquiry.
Notably, Rajbir Ghuman and his associates have earlier denied the allegations, calling them baseless.
