CBI arrests Punjab DIG Bhullar in graft case; Rs 5 cr cash, 1.5 kg gold recovered

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday arrested Punjab Police Deputy Inspector General Harcharan Singh Bhullar in an alleged corruption case and claimed to have recovered Rs 5 crore in cash and 1.5 kg of gold from his residence in Chandigarh’s Sector 40.

The police officer was picked from his Mohali office and arrested in Chandigarh on the complaint of a scrap dealer from Mandi Gobindgarh, Naresh Batta. The complainant alleged that Bhullar demanded a bribe of Rs 8 lakh through a middleman, Kirshanu—who was also arrested—to settle a 2023 FIR lodged at the Sirhind police station and to ensure no further coercive action was taken against him. Apart from cash and gold, the CBI claimed to have seized keys to BMW and Audi cars, documents of properties in Punjab, including a farmhouse in Samrala, 22 luxury watches, 40 litres of imported liquor, a double-barrel gun, a pistol, a revolver, an airgun and a large quantity of ammunition.

After nearly four hours of search at Bhullar’s house, the CBI brought in cash-counting machines. Another Rs 21 lakh was seized from Kirshanu’s possession. CBI officials said searches were still underway.

The FIR alleged that Bhullar had been demanding monthly payments, referred to as ‘sewa-paani’, and threatened to falsely implicate the complainant in business-related criminal cases in case of non-compliance.

Batta alleged that apart from monthly bribe, Bhullar had demanded Rs 28 lakh. The complaint includes the recording of a purported WhatsApp call between the DIG and the middleman from the Sector 9-D market in Chandigarh on October 11 in which the police officer is heard telling Kirshanu to collect Rs 8 lakh (from Batta). “…8 fadne ne 8… Chal jinna denda nal nal fadi chal, ohnu kehde 8 kar de pura (Take Rs 8 lakh… or accept whatever he gives. But tell him he must complete Rs 8 lakh),” the FIR stated.

A 2009-batch IPS officer, Bhullar was posted as the DIG, Ropar Range, in November 2024. The son of former Punjab Director General of Police MS Bhullar, he has held several positions, including DIG of the Patiala Range, Joint Director of the Vigilance Bureau, and the Senior Superintendent of Police in Jagraon, Mohali, Sangrur, Fatehgarh Sahib, Khanna, Hoshiarpur and Gurdaspur.

Bhullar also led a special investigation team that probed a drug case in 2021 against Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia. He was actively involved in the Punjab Government’s anti-drug initiative ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’.