The CBI’s investigation into the bribery case involving former Punjab DIG Harcharan Singh Bhullar has taken a wider turn, with over 30 officers from the state now under the scanner. Sources said these include several senior IPS and IAS officers whose names have surfaced in data recovered from the phone of middleman Krishanu Sharda, arrested alongside Bhullar.
According to the progress report filed by the CBI in the Special Court in Chandigarh, Krishanu was allegedly running a “fixer network” that influenced everything from police postings and transfers to filing and quashing FIRs. The agency has compiled a list of officers linked to him through call records, chats and financial transactions, which suggest deep-rooted corruption and manipulation of the system.
Sources familiar with the investigation said Krishanu’s phone contained messages and call logs connecting him to several senior officials. “He acted as a conduit between officers and those seeking favours. From getting transfers done to facilitating case dismissals, his role went far beyond a middleman,” a senior officer said.
The CBI also found that Krishanu and his wife, Honey Sharda, had accumulated assets that far exceeded their known sources of income. Gold jewellery, cash and property documents were recovered from their home, and large transactions were detected in Honey’s bank account. Officials believe the money trail points to a larger nexus involving officials who benefited from the network.
Meanwhile, Bhullar remains in CBI custody on a five-day remand, while Krishanu is under four-day remand. Investigators are continuing joint interrogations, which, officials say, may reveal more names and financial links. During Bhullar’s earlier questioning, the CBI had already identified 14 senior officers,10 IPS and 4 IAS, who allegedly invested their unaccounted money through Patiala-based property dealer Bhupinder Singh.
The agency is now verifying property records and investment patterns linked to the family members of those officers. At least eight of the IPS officers named are still holding field postings across Punjab.
Amid the deepening probe, sources close to Bhullar said the former DIG is preparing to move the Punjab and Haryana High Court, challenging the CBI’s FIR against him. He is expected to argue that the Punjab Vigilance Bureau had already registered a similar case of disproportionate assets before the CBI intervened.
Meanwhile, political reactions have begun to surface. Punjab BJP leaders say that diaries recovered from Bhullar and Krishanu contained “a long list of names,” indicating that the network collected money from the public and diverted it up the chain. “As the investigation moves forward, it will expose who this money was really meant for,” they said.