Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Officer on Special Duty to Panjab Chief Minister, Rajbir Singh Ghuman, evaded appearing before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for the second time on 8 Oct. Rajbir was asked to appear and join the investigation in connection with a case involving allegations of corruption and influence peddling. The CBI’s First Information Report (FIR) into alleged influence over government decisions in Panjab has flagged 21 instances of suspected interference in transfers and postings across 20 state government departments between September 2023–March 2026. These conclusions are based on the material submitted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which had recently raided several Panjab government offices. The ED gathered material evidence upon investigating builder Ajay Sehgal and associates of the Indian Cooperative House Building Society. Searches of the alleged intermediary Nitin Gohal’s premises led to the seizure of his phone and examination of WhatsApp chats, call records, and documents, following which the agency sent its dossier to the Panjab Director General of Police. The Panjab police examined the material and issued notices but did not register an FIR. That is when the Punjab and Haryana High Court asked the CBI to intervene. Panjab CM Bhagwant Mann has said that targeting senior political rivals, their aides, or family members is a standard operating practice of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He said, 'This happened in Chhattisgarh, and in Jharkhand when Hemant Soren was arrested just two months before elections. The same occurred in West Bengal with leaders close to Mamata Banerjee, in Delhi when Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia were jailed, and in Haryana when the ED raided senior Indian National Congress leaders.' Ghuman has moved the PHHC seeking quashing of the corruption case registered by the CBI against him and five others. On the Panjab government's earlier plea against the CBI investigation, the SCI refused to stay the graft FIR but has restrained the CBI from coercive action such as arrests. Meanwhile, Dera (sect) Sachkhand Ballan chief Sant Niranjan Dass visited Panjab's ruling Aam Aadmi Party leader Gagandeep Singh Kaku Ahluwalia’s home on 9 Oct. Ahluwalia is an aide of Ghuman and his name figures in the ED probe. Though the visit details are unknown, it has stirred the religious and political circles in the state (earlier coverage).
Left to right Nitin Gohal, Rajbir Ghuman and Bir Davinder have been named in the FIR | Photo by Indian Express
Recent Posts
View all
