After raids at Punjab CM’s office, CBI summons OSD Rajbir Ghuman in corruption case

The other persons named in the FIR are Nitin Gohal, Jitin Gohal alias Raja, Romi Raja Mahajan, Bir Devinder and RS Nagra. The searches were conducted at the residences of all six persons and relatives of Ghuman named in the FIR.

It remains unclear whether Ghuman will appear before the CBI today.

The state government had filed its Special Leave Petition (SLP) against the October 5 High Court order at around 1.42 am on Tuesday. The matter was mentioned before a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Tuesday. The Bench agreed to consider it on Wednesday or Thursday.

The development follows coordinated CBI searches at eight locations across Punjab and Chandigarh on Tuesday, including the Chief Minister’s Camp Office in Sector 2, Ghuman’s residence at Gharachon village and the residence of a person related to him in Phase 11, Mohali.

Searches were also carried out at locations in Sangrur, Patiala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Gurdaspur. The exercise began around 5.30 pm and continued till about 11 pm.

The CBI said it had seized laptops, mobile phones and documents from premises connected with the persons named in the case. The material is being examined for evidence relating to allegations of bribery and other alleged improprieties.

The searches followed the High Court’s October 5 order directing the CBI to register a case and investigate information relating to alleged corruption and influence-peddling. The information had earlier been shared by the Enforcement Directorate with the Punjab Police.