Chandigarh: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted searches at Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s camp office in Chandigarh on Tuesday evening as part of a probe into alleged corruption and irregularities linked to the state government.
CBI teams also carried out searches at eight locations across Chandigarh, Mohali, Gurdaspur, Ludhiana, Patiala, Sangrur and Jalandhar.
The action followed an October 5 order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court directing the registration of an FIR against Mann’s Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Rajbir Singh Ghumman, and a CBI investigation into allegations raised by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The ED had alleged irregularities involving transfer-posting, policy decisions, tenders, change of land use (CLU) approvals and other government permissions. The agency had also named Ghumman as a key accused, but the Punjab Police had not registered an FIR against him.
The matter reached the high court after the ED sent three letters to Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav in July and August, seeking registration of a case over alleged corruption linked to the Chief Minister’s Office.
According to the ED, the investigation also brought the names of Nitin Goyal, Ghumman and others to light. The agency alleged that Goyal acted as an intermediary between people seeking government-related work and Ghumman.
The ED has previously claimed that searches at premises linked to Goyal and others resulted in the recovery of documents and digital material. It also alleged that ₹20.98 lakh in cash was recovered from Goyal.
The case originated from an ED money-laundering investigation involving alleged irregularities related to GMADA land, CLU approvals, property transactions and real estate dealings. The agency has alleged that influence was exercised in matters involving government approvals and land.
Meanwhile, the Punjab government approached the Supreme Court on Tuesday seeking an urgent hearing against the high court’s order, but the request was declined.
The allegations are under investigation, and the accused have not been convicted of any wrongdoing.
