CBI raids Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann’s camp office, his OSD’s residence
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "CBI raids Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann’s camp office, his OSD’s residence")
CM Bhagwant Mann claimed the CBI raids were part of an attempt to target him and the state government Photograph: (ANI)
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) alleged that a man named Nitin Gohal acted as a middleman between people wanting government favours and OSD Rajbir Ghuman. The alleged favours included transfers, access to confidential government documents and help in getting arms licences.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted searches on Tuesday at the camp office of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and the residence of his Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Rajbir Singh Ghuman.The CBI raid at Ghuman’s residence began at around 6.15 pm.
The agency’s action comes a day after the Punjab and Haryana High Court directed it to register a case and probe allegations of corruption linked to the Chief Minister’s Office.
The case pertains to the Enforcement Directorate (ED)’s allegations of high-level corruption in the Punjab government. During a hearing on Monday, the Punjab and Haryana had ordered the CBI to probe the alleged irregularities in transfers, postings, government policies and tenders.
It also particularly raised objections over Rajbir Singh Ghuman not being associated with the Punjab Police’s preliminary inquiry despite being one of the key persons named in the ED material.
The High Court, acting on a PIL filed by advocate Nikhil Saraf, observed that the material placed before it disclosed cognisable offences and ordered a probe, directing the Punjab government and state police to assist the central agency.
The High Court had directed the CBI to register an FIR after noting that material shared by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) prima facie disclosed cognisable offences.
Trending Stories
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
The Punjab government has moved the Supreme Court against the order.
ED’s allegations against CM’s OSD Rajbir Ghuman
The ED has alleged that a man named Nitin Gohal acted as a middleman between people wanting government favours and OSD Rajbir Ghuman. The alleged favours included transfers, access to confidential government documents and help in getting arms licences.
Gohal was raided by the ED in connection with a money-laundering probe into alleged irregularities in Change of Land Use (CLU) approvals and suspicious sale transactions linked to companies under the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA).
The ED shared its findings with the Punjab DGP, but no FIR was registered, after which advocate Nikhil Saraf filed a plea in the High Court.
During the hearing, a bench of Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor said the ED’s material prima facie points to serious offences involving a high public office and questioned the slow action of the police. The court also noted that Ghuman himself had not been called for an inquiry.
The police cited the need for legible copies of the ED’s documents as a reason for the delay.
BJP preparing for upcoming polls: Mann
CM Bhagwant Mann has alleged that the BJP had started preparations for Punjab elections and claimed the CBI raid at his camp office was part of an attempt to target him and the state government.
Mann reacted to the CBI action in an X post, saying, “The BJP has started preparing for the Punjab elections. A CBI raid was conducted at my camp office. Now, the ED and CBI will be misused in Punjab to defame the Punjab government and me. The BJP is rattled by the love and support I am receiving from the people.”
