Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s officer on special duty (OSD) Rajbir Singh Ghuman appeared before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday in connecting with the corruption case involving allegations of influencing government decisions.
In his first appearance since being summoned twice last week, Ghuman reached the CBI’s Sector 30 office in Chandigarh around 2.30 pm and remained inside till 8.30 pm after facing grilling for nearly six hours. He has been summoned to appear again on Monday.
Earlier this week, Ghuman secured interim protection from arrest from the Supreme Court, which restrained CBI from taking any coercive action.
The OSD was accompanied by his lawyer GPS Ghuman, who in an interaction with the media, said his client was complying with the Supreme Court’s directions by joining the investigation.While the CBI claimed to have issued the summons by pasting notices on Ghuman’s premises and sending them by e-mail, his lawyer claimed the notice was received via WhatsApp, arguing this method was not legally tenable. According to Ghuman’s lawyer, his client was fully cooperating with the CBI.On Thursday, the CBI also examined five other persons linked with the probe, including AAP youth leader Chuspinderbeer Chahal, who is the chairman of Zila Parishad, Mansa. A close aide of Ghuman, Chahal’s name has appeared in the case related to issuance of an arms licence.
On October 5, the CBI registered a case against Ghuman and five others — Nitin Gohal, Jitin Gohal, Dr Romi Raja Mahajan, Bir Devinder and Khanna-based rice mill owner RS Nagra — following directions from the Punjab and Haryana high court. The agency subsequently conducted searches at multiple locations.
{{/usCountry}}On October 5, the CBI registered a case against Ghuman and five others — Nitin Gohal, Jitin Gohal, Dr Romi Raja Mahajan, Bir Devinder and Khanna-based rice mill owner RS Nagra — following directions from the Punjab and Haryana high court. The agency subsequently conducted searches at multiple locations.
{{/usCountry}}The agency has been asked to submit its investigation report before the high court by December 4.
According to the CBI FIR, the network allegedly collected crores in cash and real estate in exchange for influencing IAS/IPS postings, policy and administrative decisions, leaking confidential government files, facilitating arms licences, and clearing commercial projects.
The agency alleges that Nitin Gohal acted as an intermediary between individuals seeking government favours and Ghuman.
As part of the probe, the CBI on October 14 sought original files from 15 Punjab government departments, including records of transfers and postings involving IAS, PCS, police and other officers.
Records concerning Ghuman’s appointment as OSD, other CMO-linked appointments, a Zirakpur housing project, pollution clearances, foodgrain transportation policy and recruitment decisions have also been sought. Punjab’s personnel department has directed departments to provide records and IAS officer Gautam Jain has been designated as nodal officer for coordination with the CBI.
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