By Satinder Bains
CHANDIGARH: A Chandigarh court on Friday granted five-day police remand of Punjab Police DIG Harcharan Singh Bhullar to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the high-profile corruption case that has rocked the state police force. Bhullar, who was arrested last week by the CBI on charges of demanding and accepting bribes, will remain in CBI custody till November 6 for further interrogation.
The development came amid a fresh tussle between the CBI and the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB), both of which are pursuing parallel investigations against the senior officer. The Vigilance Bureau has filed its own disproportionate assets (DA) case against Bhullar and moved an application before the court seeking his police custody.
However, the CBI strongly opposed the Vigilance Bureau’s plea, arguing that the officer was already in their lawful custody following his arrest and that simultaneous custody by another agency was neither practical nor permissible. Taking note of the submissions, the court issued notice to the CBI on the Vigilance Bureau’s application and fixed the hearing for Monday.
According to the Vigilance Bureau, its officials had gone to Burail Jail on October 30 to question Bhullar in connection with the DA case and formally recorded his arrest there. The Bureau claimed it needed his custody to interrogate him about the vast assets allegedly accumulated through corrupt means, including multiple properties, luxury cars and jewellery seized during recent raids.
Bhullar, a 2007-batch IPS officer who was serving as DIG, Ropar Range, was arrested by the CBI in a trap operation after allegedly accepting a bribe through a middleman from a Fatehgarh Sahib-based scrap dealer. Subsequent searches at his official and private residences led to the recovery of over ₹7 crore in cash, gold and silver ornaments valued at more than ₹2 crore, and several luxury vehicles.
The CBI later registered a separate disproportionate-assets case against him, alleging that Bhullar had amassed wealth far exceeding his known sources of income. Following his arrest, he was suspended from service by the Punjab government.
The unfolding jurisdictional tussle between the CBI and the Punjab Vigilance Bureau has added a new twist to the ongoing probe. While both agencies insist they are acting within their legal mandate, officials privately acknowledge that the clash could complicate the investigation and delay prosecution.
Bhullar’s arrest has once again brought the issue of corruption within the Punjab Police into sharp focus. Political parties, including the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Congress, have demanded that the money trail be thoroughly investigated to identify those who may have benefited from the alleged kickbacks.
The court will hear the Vigilance Bureau’s plea for police custody on Monday, even as the CBI continues its interrogation during the remand period.