Punjab Vigilance Bureau FIR reveals DIG Harcharan Bhullar’s 30-yr trail of illegal assets

Registered by the VB’s Flying Squad-1 at Mohali, the FIR is based on a confidential “source report” filed by AIG Swarndeep Singh. It marks the first formal acknowledgment by the state agency that Bhullar’s unexplained wealth accumulated over three decades could run into tens of crores, spanning real estate, luxury vehicles, gold and benami holdings.

According to the three-page FIR, Bhullar, while posted as Ropar Range DIG, and his family members are alleged to possess assets “far beyond their known sources of income”.

Intelligence inputs cited in the report claim that he acquired around 55 acres of farmland in Ludhiana, 20 commercial properties in the same district and nearly 50 other properties across Punjab and abroad, apart from owning number of Audi and Mercedes cars, 26 luxury watches, 2.5 kg of gold ornaments worth over Rs 2.5 crore, household articles of high value and Rs 7.5 crore in cash. His declared annual income stood at barely Rs 32 lakh, painting a stark picture of alleged disproportionate accumulation.

The VB, however, kept the FIR under wraps for nearly a week, unlike the CBI, which registered a parallel disproportionate assets case against Bhullar on the same day and made it public immediately. Even after six days, the VB has not released the FIR.

Both Bhullar and his middleman Kirshanu Sharda, who were caught in the CBI trap case, are in the central agency’s custody till November 6. They are being interrogated daily and confronted face-to-face for hours.

Sources privy to the investigation told The Tribune that both remain evasive and inconsistent, with each attempting to shift blame. “They are not fully cooperating, but several of their denials have already been contradicted by digital evidence and witness accounts,” a senior officer involved in the probe revealed.

Investigators said Bhullar’s extracted phone data has exposed attempts to influence judicial orders and a pattern of monthly payoffs, suggesting an organised “protection system”. The chats, call records and forensic data reportedly reveal coded messages and transactions involving multiple actors.

Sharda’s digital trail and a recovered diary, on the other hand, have opened what officials describe as a Pandora’s box, unmasking links to over two dozen senior IAS and IPS officers, besides several political aides and businessmen.

Sources said Sharda had cultivated a network of sources inside government offices who leaked official documents and advance information about transfers, postings and raids. He allegedly exploited this data to blackmail, extort and broker deals, splitting the gains with his “bosses”.

The investigation, officers said, is now moving toward identifying the larger pay-for-protection network involving bureaucrats, politicians and private beneficiaries. “This is no longer about two individuals. It’s a web that fed on influence and immunity,” said a source.

The case has also exposed a rare turf battle between the CBI and the Punjab Vigilance Bureau. Both agencies moved courts simultaneously last week to seek Bhullar’s custody. The VB interrogated him inside Burail Jail on Friday and later sought his formal production, but its application--marred by contradictory claims of having “arrested” Bhullar in jail--was junked by a Mohali court. In contrast, the CBI secured five days of police custody from the Chandigarh court, which ruled that the federal agency had jurisdiction since the trap and recovery occurred in Chandigarh, and consent from the state government was “not required”.