CBI heat on Punjab DIG Bhullar’s aide jolts power corridors

According to senior CBI officials familiar with the probe, the forensic extraction of chats, call records and digital data from Sharda’s phone suggests “regular and coded communication” with multiple individuals, including public servants and influential private players, who allegedly sought or facilitated undue favours. A diary seized from his house has pointed to “recurring payment entries and quid pro quo references”, potentially mapping out a network far larger than the initial bribery trap that first led to the arrest of Bhullar.

“This is no longer a single case of bribery,” a senior CBI official told The Tribune on Thursday. “The evidence so far indicates a continuing system of facilitation, illegal gratification and protection. We are now looking at the ecosystem that enabled it — who benefited, who brokered and who turned a blind eye,” he said.

The CBI on Wednesday got nine-day custody of Sharda from the Special CBI Court in Chandigarh, citing the need to confront him with the seized devices, digital logs and financial documents. Investigators plan to track meetings, decode diary entries and follow the money trail to suspected safe houses and shell accounts.

Sharda was first arrested on October 16 after being caught red-handed while accepting Rs 5 lakh — part of an Rs 8-lakh demand — from a Mohali businessman to “settle” a police case on behalf of Bhullar. The CBI said the transaction was corroborated by a recorded call, during which Bhullar was heard acknowledging receipt of the bribe and instructing Sharda to bring the complainant to his office.

Officials now believe the bribe was not an isolated solicitation but part of a wider “protection and payoff” pattern allegedly coordinated by Sharda as Bhullar’s trusted frontman. “The emerging picture suggests a systematic misuse of office for monetary gain. His custodial questioning is essential to map the full chain of collusion,” a CBI officer said.

The CBI had unearthed an extraordinary haul from Bhullar’s residence and properties — Rs 7.36 crore, gold and silver worth Rs 2.32 crore, 26 luxury watches and documents for nearly 150 acres of land spread across Mohali, Hoshiarpur and Ludhiana. Five luxury vehicles, including a Mercedes and Audi, and Rs 2.95 crore in bank accounts and FDs were also seized. Besides, four firearms with 117 cartridges and 108 liquor bottles were seized.

It is learnt that some more recoveries from Bhullar’s premises are still being tabulated and verified.

Bhullar, whose declared annual income was Rs 45.95 lakh (net Rs 32 lakh after tax), now faces a separate FIR under Sections 13(1)(b) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for allegedly amassing assets vastly disproportionate to his known sources of income. The CBI suspects the existence of benami holdings and possible overseas routing of funds.

Bhullar and Sharda were earlier sent to 14-day judicial custody in the initial bribery case, but with the fresh digital evidence surfacing, the agency believes “new chapters and names” could emerge from Sharda’s interrogation. (With inputs by Ramkrishan Upadhyay)