New Delhi: The CBI summoned Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s OSD Rajbir Singh Ghuman and his associates for questioning on Wednesday, a day after raiding eight premises in connection with alleged corruption in the CMO. The agency also issued summons to his friends Nitin Gohal, his brother Jitin Gohal, Bir Devinder,
Among the premises raided by the CBI across Punjab are the CM’s camp office in Chandigarh, the Sangrur residence of Ghuman and the premises of his childhood friends and classmates—Nitin Gohal and his brother Jitin Gohal, Bir Devinder, Romi Raja Mahajan and R S Nagra.
The agency conducted raids a day after the Punjab and Haryana High Court pulled up the state police for failing to act on Enforcement Directorate inputs suggesting alleged corruption in the CMO.
Coming as they do just months before assembly elections in the only AAP-ruled state in the country, the central agency’s action drew a sharp reaction from party chief Arvind Kejriwal who claimed the raids represent nothing but the BJP’s “frustration” over its inability to win the state in polls.
The sweeping raids came after the central agency registered a case under sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act against the trio and other unidentified public servants.
“Pursuant to the orders of the Hon’ble Punjab and Haryana High Court and receipt of report from ED, the CBI has registered an FIR to investigate the allegations of corruption against OSD to Punjab Chief Minister (CM) and his associates,” an agency spokesperson said Tuesday, coinciding with the raids in Punjab.
The allegations against them related to influencing and manipulating postings of officers including that of IAS and IPS officers, “departmental proceedings, matters pertaining to policy formulation, administrative approvals, tender conditions, licensing matters, Land Use conversion matters, property disputes, revenue and land related issues in lieu of pecuniary benefits”, the spokesperson said.
Kejriwal slammed the Centre’s ruling BJP over the development. “The BJP can’t win elections by contesting in Punjab, so it wants to fight the elections with the help of ED-CBI. But Punjabis have made up their minds, and they will respond to the BJP’s CBI raid in the upcoming elections by electing Bhagwant Mann with 100+ seats and making him Chief Minister again,” Kejriwal wrote in a post on X.
चुनाव से दो महीने पहले पंजाब के मुख्यमंत्री कार्यालय पे CBI की रेड बीजेपी कि बौखलाहट का नतीजा है। जब से सेंटर में बीजेपी की सरकार आई है उसने पंजाबियों के साथ हमेशा ही धक्का किया है चाहे किसान आंदोलन हो, पंजाब के पानी का मुद्दा हो, पंजाब यूनिवर्सिटी का मुद्दा हो। और अब तो उनके… https://t.co/W6pW9KFxYM
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) October 6, 2026
The Mann-led Punjab government approached the Supreme Court Tuesday against the High Court order directing a CBI probe into the allegations of corruption in transfer posting of officers and policy formulations by the Mann government.
The court indicated it would hear the matter on Wednesday or Thursday.
ED’s inputs to DGP, reminders before CBI raids
The case emerged in May when the ED conducted raids at a dozen locations in Chandigarh and Mohali, including the premises of Nitin Gohal and Pritpal Singh Dhindsa, a Mohali-based businessman considered close to Ghuman and Gohal.
The raids were part of a probe into alleged fraudulent acquisition of Change of Land Use (CLU) licences by the Suntec City Real Estate project, managed by Ajay Sehgal, the secretary of the Indian Cooperative Housing Building Society, in Mullanpur, as well as real estate firms such as ABS Townships, Altus Builders, Dhir Constructions, and their associates.
The agency found these real estate companies and projects obtained, allegedly through fraudulent means, CLU from the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA).
Later, the ED also raided a prime property in Mohali as part of a probe into fraudulent land allotment from Punjab Small Industries & Export Corporation (PSIEC). The agency had allegedly found that the property—CP 01 Focal Point—was allotted to Iconic Space Creator, whose allotment terms and conditions were changed from the rules mentioned during the auction process to benefit the allottee.
According to the ED’s probe, PSIEC plots were transferred to Ghuman’s close friends Nitin Gohal and Bir Devinder based on approvals from the state government.
Weeks after its raids and findings, the agency approached the Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav office in the last week of July, seeking registration of a criminal case against Ghuman, Nitin Gohal and Bir Devinder.
The agency alleged they were part of a transfer-posting “syndicate” that carried out preferential postings, including those for deputy commissioners, superintendents of police, DSPs, and even lower-rung administrative officers such as Naib Tehsildar, based on ‘loyalty’ and ‘kickbacks’.
Overall, the agency, in its communication with the police, flagged 21 instances where Nitin Gohal was allegedly observed interfering in the transfers and postings of government officers across various departments.
In its order, the High Court observed that the ED had submitted 11 WhatsApp chats to demonstrate that Nitin Gohal was purportedly involved actively in matters relating to policy formulation, amendments to departmental rules, administrative approvals, tender conditions, licensing matters, and other decisions.
The agency also pointed to Nitin Gohal’s alleged role in procuring an arms licence, submitting seven purported chats to the police. It submitted six more chats purportedly suggesting his involvement in discussions and coordination relating to land transactions, CLU matters, demarcation proceedings, property disputes, housing schemes and other land-related issues, further indicating access to sensitive information concerning land records, revenue matters and government approvals.
In addition to these, the agency had also flagged 11 chats purportedly related to payments, kickbacks and other benefits allegedly received by syndicate members in exchange for official favours and work. One of Nitin Gohal’s chats is with a contact saved as “Dir.Hort.Shailendra K”, intimating that 100 is paid and the rest will be given.
The agency sent two reminders to the DGP office—on 31 July and 7 August—of the main communication it had sent on 24 July with annexures allegedly containing incriminating material suggesting the involvement of Ghuman and his friends in the syndicate.
The matter gathered pace when advocate Nikhil Saraf moved a Public Interest Litigation before the Punjab and Haryana High Court earlier in August this year, seeking an independent probe, citing the long pendency of the case with the Punjab Police.
After giving all parties a full hearing, a division bench of the Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Rohit Kapoor ordered the CBI to initiate a probe and submit the status of the investigation in two months.
Hours after the order, the CBI booked Ghuman and his aides and raided their premises, which concluded only around midnight of Tuesday and Wednesday.
The summonses followed, with the agency asking Nitin Gohal, Jitin Gohal, Bir Devinder, Romi Raja Mahajan and R S Nagra to depose for questioning on Wednesday.
The report has been updated with additional details
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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