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Chandigarh: The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a corruption case against Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s Officer on Special Duty, Rajbir Ghuman and five others following directions from the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The CBI on Tuesday also carried out searches at eight locations in Chandigarh, Mohali, Gurdaspur, Ludhiana, Patiala, Sangrur and Jalandhar.
The CBI said the case involves allegations of corruption in the transfer and posting of government officials including IAS and IPS officers as well as decisions relating to departmental proceedings, government policies, tenders, licences and land matters.
The agency has named Ghuman, Nitin Gohal, Jitin Gohal alias Raja, Romi Raja Mahajan, Bir Devinder and R S Nagra as accused. It has also named unidentified public servants and private individuals.
During the searches, investigators seized laptops, mobile phones and documents. The material is being examined for evidence relating to alleged bribery and other irregularities.
The case follows allegations raised by the Enforcement Directorate in communications sent to the Punjab Director General of Police. The ED had alleged that a network was operating to influence government decisions, including transfers and postings, tender processes, licensing matters and land-related cases in return for financial benefits.
The CBI has also alleged that some public servants shared draft of government orders and policy documents with private individuals before they were formally issued.
The High Court has ordered the CBI investigation on October 5 while hearing a public interest petition filed by advocate Nikhil Saraf. The petition alleged that the Punjab Police had failed to take appropriate action despite receiving information from the ED.
The court had earlier described the allegations as serious and asked the ED to place its communications before it. The CBI subsequently told the court that it had no objection to taking up the investigation if ordered to do so.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann criticised the searches and accused the BJP-led central government of using central investigating agencies against his government. He said the CBI and ED were being used to target and discredit the Punjab government.
Dr Kiran Deep
