Days after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) sent a letter to the Punjab director general of police (DGP) seeking an FIR against private person Nitin Gohal and others for allegedly using their influence to interfere in government functioning, the Punjab government is examining the federal agency’s allegations before deciding its next course of action.
Punjab police chief Gaurav Yadav has sought inputs from the Bureau of Investigation (BoI), including the allegations and the legal course available to the state police, officials privy to the development said.
The ED, in its communication to the DGP, has alleged that Gohal acted as an intermediary between interested persons and Rajbir Ghuman, officer on special duty (OSD) to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, and was involved in influencing transfers and postings of government officials, leaking confidential government documents, facilitating arms licences and securing government approvals in lieu of alleged monetary and other benefits.
In exchange, Gohal, in coordination with associates Rajbir Ghuman, Bir Devinder, Jitin Gohal, alias Raja, collected proceeds of crime to the tune of crores in the form of cash, land and kind, according to ED communication.
Officials said the government’s options could include seeking further details or material from the ED, examining the allegations through the police before deciding on registering an FIR, or proceeding with an FIR if the material discloses cognisable offences.
{{/usCountry}}Officials said the government’s options could include seeking further details or material from the ED, examining the allegations through the police before deciding on registering an FIR, or proceeding with an FIR if the material discloses cognisable offences.
{{/usCountry}}The precise course will depend on the inputs sought by the DGP and the legal examination of the ED’s reference, they said.
The communication, sent under Section 66 (2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), has put the state government in a bind as the agency has sought registration of a “confidential FIR” against Gohal and others based on material gathered during its investigation.
The August 11 bombshell letter also sparked political furore, lending a potent issue to the opposition parties to target the AAP government in the run up to the assembly elections due early next year. The Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lost no time, calling the ED letter “ a proof of corruption” in top power echelons and demanding a CBI probe.
While the Bhagwant Mann government has not declined receiving the letter, it has termed it a ploy by the BJP to use ED against the ruling dispensation.
“The BJP-led Union government has deployed central agencies like ED, CBI and income tax department to intimidate Opposition leaders, threaten local administration and subvert elected state governments across the country,” finance minister Harpal Cheema said.
What has ED alleged
The ED’s letter, accessed by HT, stems from its investigation under the PMLA in ECIR/ILZO/21/2024 pertaining to Ajay Sehgal and associates of M/s Indian Cooperative Housing Building Society over allegedly facilitating CLUs (change of land use) through government authorities to some real estate firms.
During the probe, the agency raided the premises of Gohal, Sehgal, Suresh Kumar Bajaj and others linked to the society between May 7 and 10, during which it claimed to have recovered incriminating documents and information.
The ED had also claimed to have seized ₹1 crore in cash and recovered a bag containing ₹20 lakh that was allegedly thrown from a flat in a private society in Kharar owned by Gohal.
According to the ED, examination of WhatsApp chats, call records and documents recovered from Gohal’s devices indicated that he acted as an intermediary between persons seeking government-related favours and Ghuman. The agency also alleged that confidential draft orders and information relating to postings were shared with persons concerned before they entered the public domain.
In support of its allegations, the ED has cited 21 WhatsApp chats between September 20, 2023, and March 18, 2026, relating to transfers and postings of officials from various departments, including the police, Punjab Civil Services, food and civil supplies, Markfed and the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA).
The agency has further alleged that Gohal was involved in influencing policy decisions, amendments to departmental rules, administrative approvals, tender conditions, licensing matters and other government decisions. It has cited chats that, according to the agency, indicated access to confidential policy proposals, draft administrative decisions and departmental communications, which ordinarily would not be available in the public domain.
Among other matters cited by the ED are discussions relating to conditions for tenders and empanelment of manufacturers for the supply of fortified rice kernels, transfers of DSPs and tendering in Markfed.
On real estate matters, the agency has alleged that Gohal intervened in land transactions, changes in land use, GMADA approvals, property disputes and other cases involving developers and private individuals.
The ED has specifically referred to an alleged property transaction involving plot D-156 in Phase 7, Mohali, claiming that a substantial part of the consideration was paid in cash over and above the amount reflected in sale documents.
Further, it was found that no unearned increase was charged by the Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation Limited (PSIEC) with respect to the said transfer.
Citing travel agents’ records, the agency further alleged that Gohal paid for air tickets and hotel stays of Rajbir Ghuman and Bir Devinder in cash.
The ED has cited 11 specific chats, which, it claimed, indicated that Gohal and his associates were receiving monetary consideration, arranging payments, facilitating financial transactions, booking travel and providing other benefits in connection with transfers and postings, land transactions, policy-related work and official favours.
“The pattern suggests a systematic arrangement whereby influence and access to government officials were utilised for obtaining pecuniary advantage,” the letter reads.
ED also referred to alleged payments through a Hawala note number from one Karan Bhushan.
Offences made out under PC Act, Official Secrets Act, IPC: ED
On the basis of the material gathered during its investigation, the ED said the matter warranted examination under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and the Official Secrets Act, besides other applicable provisions.
The agency has stated that cognisable offences under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record) of the Indian Penal Code appear to have been committed.
Invoking Supreme Court judgments, including Vijay Madanlal Choudhary and Lalita Kumari, in support of its contention, the ED maintained that information disclosing commission of a cognisable offence required registration of an FIR.
False propaganda, says Gohal
While DGP Gaurav Yadav did not respond to HT’s message for his comment, Nitin Gohal termed the ED allegations “false propaganda to implicate Rajbir Ghuman”.
“Rajbir is my old friend and I have been assisting him in his office as OSD to the chief minister as a personal assistant. ED is distorting administrative chats. If they had evidence, they would have booked me. But they have failed to establish my role in any fraud,” said Gohal.
He also refuted the claim that the cash bag thrown from his flat in Kharar belonged to him.
“ED officials, during my questioning at the time of raids, admitted that the bag is not mine. As far as the hawala transaction is concerned, it was a chat with a friend for game codes,” said Gohal. Ghuman could not be immediately reached for his response to the ED letter.