CBI court grants five‑day remand to suspended Punjab DIG Bhullar

The CBI court in Chandigarh has granted five‑day remand of suspended DIG Harcharan Singh Bhullar to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The investigating agency had sought five days’ remand a day after the court sent the accused to 14‑day judicial custody. The sudden move by the CBI to seek the remand came after the Vigilance Bureau of Punjab registered a case against him and filed an application with the Mohali court seeking his production warrant.

While appearing for the accused, senior advocate APS Deol argued that the CBI is playing a “hide-and-seek game” with the accused. He said the CBI sought the remand a day after the Vigilance Bureau registered the case against the accused. He further argued that the CBI had never sought police remand of the accused on two earlier occasions. It is surprising that a day after the court sent Bhullar to judicial custody for another 14 days, the CBI suddenly sought the police remand, he added.

Deol also argued that the application for remand was not maintainable as no sanction was given by the state government. He said prior consent is required before the CBI can proceed in any case. He added that registering the case against the accused in Chandigarh is illegal because the alleged cause of action took place in Punjab; hence the application for remand is not maintainable.

On the other hand, while appearing for the CBI, public prosecutor Narendra Singh argued that the agency is seeking the remand to confront the accused with co‑accused Krishanu Sharda, who is already in its custody. He said chats were recovered from the accused’s mobile phone, which needed further investigation. The device showed a pattern of similar kinds of crime. The trail of money is also being investigated, and other gadgets hidden by the accused are required to be recovered. He argued that there is no contradiction between the CBI’s application and the production warrant sought by the Vigilance Bureau.

After hearing the arguments, the CBI court granted five days’ remand to the accused. The CBI had arrested middleman Krishanu and Bhullar on October 16, 2025. According to the FIR, the IPS officer allegedly sought recurring monthly illegal payments from the complainant through Kirshanu Sharda.

The accused were arrested 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 to settle a 2023 FIR lodged at the Sirhind police station and to ensure no further coercive action was taken against him. Krishanu was arrested from Sector 21, Chandigarh, reportedly red‑handed while accepting part of the bribe on behalf of DIG Bhullar.