Chandigarh
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday registered a corruption case against Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s OSD Rajbir Singh Ghuman and five others and carried out coordinated searches at eight locations across the state, including the CM’s Chandigarh camp office. The multi-location raids came a day after the Punjab and Haryana High Court ordered central probe agency to register an FIR and probe into the allegations of graft linked to the Chief Minister’s Office. Laptops, mobile phones, and documents were seized during the searches as the agency began examining alleged evidence of bribery and impropriety.
The action came within hours of the Supreme Court agreeing to hear the Punjab Government’s challenge to the High Court order. The state had moved the Apex Court in the early hours of Tuesday, seeking to overturn the direction for a CBI probe. The government’s challenge, however, did not stop the central agency from registering the FIR and launching searches later in the day. At the time of filing this report, the searches were still underway.
The case has brought the alleged corruption network around the CM’s Office into the centre of a rapidly escalating confrontation between the Mann Government and central investigative agencies, with the allegations involving transfers and postings of senior officers, government approvals, tenders, licences, land-use conversions and access to confidential government material.
Reacting, CM Mann said the BJP had started preparing for the Punjab elections, alleging that central agencies would be misused to target and defame his government. AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal also accused the BJP of trying to “contest elections through ED and CBI” after failing to win Punjab electorally, saying Punjabis would answer the “dhakkashahi” (high-handedness) by giving Mann over 100 seats.
The CBI, acting on the High Court’s directions and material received from the Enforcement Directorate, has named six persons in the FIR, including two public servants. Those named are Ghuman, Nitin Gohal, Jitin Gohal alias Raja, Romi Raja Mahajan, Bir Devinder, and RS Nagra. The FIR also refers to “unknown public servants and private persons”.
According to the CBI, the allegations centre on influencing or manipulating postings of officers, including IAS and IPS officers, departmental proceedings, policy formulation, administrative approvals, tender conditions, licensing matters, land-use conversion, property disputes, and revenue and land-related matters in return for pecuniary benefits.
The agency has also alleged that public servants involved in the network accessed drafts of government orders and policies and provided them to private persons before their official issuance.
The CBI said its searches were aimed at gathering evidence relating to bribery and other improprieties and that the seized electronic devices and documents were being scrutinised. Further investigation is underway.
The most politically-sensitive search was at House No. 50 in Chandigarh, the camp office allotted to the Chief Minister from the CM pool, where Ghuman had been staying. CBI teams also searched Ghuman’s residence at Gharachon in Sangrur district, and other premises linked to the accused in Mohali, Gurdaspur, Ludhiana, Patiala, and Jalandhar.
In Mohali, a CBI team searched the residence of Dr Gurkirpal Singh Thind in Phase XI, Sector 65. Thind has been described as Ghuman’s close relative.
The CBI also searched the Gurdaspur residence of Dr Romi Raja Mahajan, a former OSD in the Chief Minister’s Office and one of the six persons named in the FIR. Mahajan had shifted to Chandigarh some time ago and resigned as a medical officer in the Health Department on September 30.
The agency said laptops, mobile phones and documents were seized from the eight locations. The material will now be examined for links to the alleged bribery and manipulation of official decisions.
The searches followed the High Court’s October 5 direction for registration of an FIR and a CBI investigation after a petition filed by advocate Nikhil Saraf sought an independent probe into material supplied by the ED to the Punjab Police.
The allegations emerged from an ED money-laundering investigation involving alleged irregularities in Change of Land Use approvals and property transactions connected with a housing society and entities linked to the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA).
The ED had searched the premises of Nitin Gohal, Ajay Sehgal of Indian Cooperative House Building Society, the Suntec City project, and others in May. During its investigation, the agency claimed to have recovered documents and digital material, including WhatsApp conversations, relating to alleged efforts to influence transfers, postings, policy decisions, tenders and access to government documents.
The ED had also claimed recovery of Rs 20.98 lakh in cash from Gohal.
In three communications to Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav during July and August, the ED sought registration of an FIR over the allegations. It alleged that Gohal acted as a middleman between people seeking government favours and Ghuman.
The alleged favours included transfers and postings, access to confidential government documents, assistance in obtaining arms licences, and securing various government approvals. The allegations also extended to policy decisions, tender conditions, CLU approvals and land and property-related matters.
The Punjab Police, however, did not register an FIR against Ghuman, leading Saraf to approach the High Court.
The ED subsequently submitted a 200-page affidavit in the PIL. The High Court, after considering the material placed before it, directed that a regular FIR be registered and that the CBI investigate the allegations.
Ghuman and his associates have previously denied the allegations and termed them baseless.
Mann: BJP Preparing For Punjab Polls
CM Mann immediately turned the CBI action into a political battle, alleging that the BJP was preparing for the Punjab Assembly elections and would misuse central agencies to target him and his government.
“The BJP has started preparing for the Punjab elections. A CBI raid was conducted at my camp office. Now ED and CBI will be misused in Punjab to defame the Punjab government and me. Seeing the love and support I am receiving from the people, the BJP is rattled,” Mann said in a post on X in Punjabi.
In a detailed attack, the Chief Minister said the BJP had repeatedly “pushed Punjabis aside”, referring to the farmers’ agitation, Punjab’s water issues, and the Panjab University controversy. He alleged that the elected Chief Minister was now being targeted through central agencies because the BJP could not gain political ground in Punjab.
AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal also described the raid as a sign of BJP “panic”, alleging that the Centre wanted to fight the Punjab elections through the ED and CBI because it could not defeat the AAP electorally.
Kejriwal said Punjabis would respond to the action in the coming elections and predicted that Mann would return as Chief Minister with more than 100 seats.
AAP Punjab unit president and Cabinet Minister Aman Arora called the raid the launch of the BJP’s “2027 election campaign”, alleging that the party was panicking over the Mann Government’s performance and lacked grassroots support.
AAP Alleges Agency Misuse
Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema accused the BJP of attempting to create “fear and apprehension” in Punjab through central agencies. He said the raid had been conducted within 24 hours of the state moving the Supreme Court, alleging that the agency action was intended to intimidate Punjabis.
“Punjab and Punjabis have never been afraid,” Cheema said, asserting that the AAP would fight the battle “from the streets to Parliament” and through legal proceedings.
Delhi’s former Chief Minister Manish Sisodia described the CBI action as the BJP’s “advance party” for the Punjab elections, saying the raid reflected panic rather than strength. AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh similarly accused the BJP of repeatedly using the ED and CBI as an electoral weapon and said the people would judge the action in the elections.
AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that the Centre was repeating its “Delhi election playbook” in Punjab, while AAP national media in-charge Anurag Dhanda said the raid would not intimidate Punjab.
Govt Takes Battle to SC
The political confrontation now has a parallel legal battle. The Punjab government filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) before the Supreme Court at around 2 am on Tuesday, challenging the High Court’s October 5 (Monday) order directing registration of the FIR and a CBI investigation.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the state’s plea later this week. Despite the state’s challenge, the CBI proceeded with the FIR and searches on Tuesday.
For now, the allegations remain allegations and have not been established as guilt. The CBI investigation will determine whether the electronic devices, documents, and other material seized during Tuesday’s searches establish the alleged network, its financial transactions and the role of those named in the FIR.
Key Allegations
• Manipulating IAS and IPS postings for monetary benefits
• Influencing transfers and departmental proceedings
• Interfering in govt policies and administrative approvals
• Favouring private parties in tenders and licensing
• Facilitating land-use changes and property-related matters
• Sharing confidential govt drafts with private persons
Six Named in FIR
• Punjab CM’s OSD Rajbir Singh Ghuman
• Nitin Gohal
• Jitin Gohal alias Raja
• Romi Raja Mahajan
• Bir Devinder
• RS Nagra
• FIR also named unknown public servants and private persons
