Chandigarh
 
Punjab Chief Minister’s OSD Rajbir Singh Ghuman did not appear before the CBI on Wednesday for questioning despite being summoned in connection with a corruption case, even as he moved the CBI Special Court seeking contempt proceedings against the probe team for allegedly making the FIR public despite an exemption granted by the court from uploading it.
 
Ghuman was summoned to appear before the CBI at its Sector 30 office in Chandigarh at 2.30 pm. However, he did not turn up. The Chief Minister’s Office maintained that he had not been served the summons. The development came a day after CBI searches at the CM Camp Office, Ghuman’s residence at Gharachon, a relative’s house in Phase 11, Mohali, among total eight locations in Sangrur, Patiala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Gurdaspur. Laptops, mobile phones, and documents were reportedly seized during the searches.
 
Meanwhile, Ghuman approached the CBI Special Court alleging that the investigating agency had violated the court’s order by allowing the FIR to become public after seeking exemption from uploading it because of the sensitivity of the matter. Through advocate Ferry Sofat, he sought contempt proceedings against those responsible and asked the court to ascertain how the FIR reached the public domain. The court has sought the CBI’s response by October 12.
 
The case assumes significance because the FIR record incorporates extensive material shared by the Enforcement Directorate, including WhatsApp chats, documents, call records, and details of searches and recoveries. The material concerns allegations of manipulation of transfers and postings, influencing policy and administrative decisions, facilitating arms licences, obtaining government approvals, and allegedly receiving monetary or other benefits in return.
 
The case names six accused — Ghuman, Nitin Gohal, Jitin Gohal alias Raja, Dr Romi Raja Mahajan, Bir Devinder and R S Nagra — besides referring to “unknown public servants and private persons”. The case was registered on a complaint by ED’s assistant director Akshay Kumar and invokes provisions relating to criminal conspiracy and corruption, including Sections 120-B of the IPC, 61(2) of the BNS and Sections 7, 7A, 8 and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
 
According to the ED material incorporated in the record, Nitin Gohal allegedly acted as an intermediary between persons seeking government-related favours and Ghuman. The agency cited WhatsApp chats and other material relating to proposed transfers, preferred postings and movement of officials, including officers in the police, civil administration, food and civil supplies, Markfed and GMADA. It alleged that draft orders and confidential information concerning postings were shared with interested persons before they entered the public domain.
 
The ED also alleged that Gohal coordinated with Ghuman, Bir Devinder, and Jitin Gohal alias Raja in collecting alleged proceeds of crime “to the tune of crores” in cash, land and kind. During searches, the agency said it recovered Rs 20.98 lakh in cash from Nitin Gohal.
 
The material further refers to alleged attempts to influence tender conditions, departmental policies, licensing decisions and administrative approvals. Among the examples cited are an alleged attempt to alter conditions relating to empanelment of manufacturers of fortified rice kernels, intervention in Animal Husbandry-related dealership matters, requests concerning Markfed tendering and efforts to influence postings and administrative charges.
 
Arms-licence matters also figure prominently in the ED material, with several chats cited as showing requests for licences or their expedited processing. The agency also referred to alleged interventions in land and real-estate matters, including GMADA approvals, change-of-land-use related issues, registry proceedings and government clearances.
 
One of the allegations concerns Jitin Gohal’s entry into the Chief Minister’s Office. The ED referred to a January 23, 2026, exchange in which Dr Romi Raja Mahajan allegedly asked Nitin Gohal to have Jitin’s temporary entry card describe him as “PS to Secretary cum OSD” instead of Production Manager. The material cited in the record further suggests that the matter was to be confirmed through Rajbir Ghuman.
 
The ED also referred to an alleged property transaction involving Pritpal Dhindsa and Nitin Gohal and Bir Devinder, claiming that the declared consideration did not reflect the actual value and that a substantial portion was allegedly paid in cash. It further cited a travel-agent ledger in support of its allegation that Nitin Gohal arranged air tickets and hotel stays for Bir Devinder and Ghuman, with payments allegedly made in cash.
 
The allegations, however, remain subject to investigation. The record itself notes that substantial portions of the electronic material supplied by the ED were not fully legible and that the authenticity, integrity, chain of custody and admissibility of such material would have to be established in accordance with law.
 
The FIR and the material on which it is based, therefore, set out a wide range of allegations involving public servants, intermediaries and private persons. The CBI investigation will now determine the role, if any, of the named accused and others referred to in the material.
 
Key Allegations in Probe Record
•       Influence over transfers and postings
•       Leakage of confidential govt information
•       Manipulation of tenders and licences
•       Facilitation of arms licences
•       Intervention in land, CLU and GMADA matters
•       Payments, kickbacks and benefits for official favours