The CBI’s anti-corruption drive in Punjab took a sensational turn on Thursday evening with the recovery of Rs 5 crore in cash, gold jewellery, and a half-truckload of liquor from premises linked to Ropar Range DIG Harcharan Singh Bhullar, who was arrested earlier in the day while accepting a bribe of Rs 5 lakh from a scrap dealer in Mandi Gobindgarh.
Soon after Bhullar’s arrest at his Mohali office, CBI teams from Delhi and Chandigarh raided multiple locations associated with him, including his Sector 40 residence in Chandigarh, official premises in Mohali, and a farmhouse near Samrala. Officials confirmed that during the searches, currency notes amounting to around Rs 5 crore were recovered from his homes and office, besides gold ornaments and several incriminating documents related to property deals.
At Bhullar’s Samrala farmhouse, from where a half-truck of liquor — including several cartons of imported and premium Indian brands — was found stocked, sources said the liquor is suspected to have been stored in violation of excise laws and has been sealed by the agency.
CBI officials continued the counting of seized money late into the night using multiple machines to verify the total amount. Several lockers and cupboards were also sealed after unaccounted valuables were found during the searches.
According to sources, Bhullar had allegedly been demanding monthly payments from businessmen in the Ropar range area. The complainant, identified as Akash, a scrap dealer from Mandi Gobindgarh, told the agency that he was being coerced to pay Rs 5 lakh every month to keep his business running. After nearly ten days of surveillance and verification, the CBI laid a trap and caught the officer red-handed while accepting the bribe through a middleman.
The middleman, identified as Krishanu, had already been detained earlier in connection with the case and reportedly played a crucial role in facilitating the deal. The CBI has now seized his communications and financial records for further scrutiny.
Bhullar, a 2007-batch IPS officer, was posted as DIG of Ropar Range in November 2024. He is the son of former Punjab DGP Mehal Singh Bhullar and brother of former Congress MLA Kuldeep Singh Bhullar. Known to be well-connected within the force, Bhullar has served in various districts including Patiala and in the Vigilance Bureau.
The CBI is expected to produce Bhullar before the Mohali court on Friday, seeking his remand for further questioning. Officials said the focus now is to trace the sources of the recovered cash and gold, and establish whether other police personnel or businessmen were part of the alleged extortion network.
The arrest of a serving DIG, coupled with the massive cash haul and liquor recovery, has sent shockwaves across Punjab Police. Senior officials admitted that the development has caused deep embarrassment to the force and hinted that more names could surface as the CBI widens its probe in what is shaping up to be one of the state’s biggest corruption cases in recent memory.