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CBI summons Punjab CM’s OSD, 5 co-accused in cash-for-favours probe
Central investigating agency orders Rajbir Ghuman and alleged middlemen to appear in Chandigarh following Tuesday’s searches at eight premises across state.
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Chandigarh: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has summoned all six accused named in a cash-for-favours case, including Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s officer on special duty (OSD), Rajbir Ghuman, to appear at its Chandigarh office on Wednesday afternoon.
The summons follow raids conducted on Tuesday at eight locations across Punjab after the agency registered an FIR.
The searched premises included Ghuman’s official residence in Sector 2, Chandigarh, used as a camp office, and his ancestral home at Gharachon in Sangrur district. The CBI seized electronic devices, including laptops and mobile phones, along with financial and administrative documents.
Besides Ghuman, the CBI summoned his five co-accused: alleged middleman Nitin Gohal, his brother Jitin Gohal, Romi Raja Mahajan, Bir Devinder, and RS Nagra. Nitin Gohal and Nagra are long-time associates of Ghuman, while Bir Devinder is an AAP youth wing functionary from Sangrur.
The investigation stems from a Punjab and Haryana high court order directing the CBI to probe corruption allegations outlined in three letters sent by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to Punjab director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav.
Meanwhile, the Punjab government filed an urgent special leave petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court challenging the high court order, seeking an immediate stay on the CBI proceedings.
According to the CBI FIR, the accused ran an organised network that manipulated IAS and IPS postings, departmental proceedings, policy framing, administrative approvals, tenders, licensing, and land-use conversions in exchange for bribes.
The agency also alleged that unreleased government notifications and internal draft policies were leaked to private beneficiaries.
The ED’s initial findings revealed that Nitin Gohal operated as an intermediary for Ghuman, coordinating the bribery network. These allegations surfaced during an ongoing money-laundering investigation into Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) land allotments.
Reacting to the raids on Tuesday, chief minister Bhagwant Mann accused the BJP of using central agencies like the CBI and ED to target his administration ahead of the state elections. The CBI clarified that it had searched a residence used by the OSD, not the chief minister’s secretariat.
