Chandigarh, April 27 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday carried out search operations in a corruption case linked to suspended Punjab Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Harcharan Singh Bhullar and others under Section 17 of PMLA, 2002, sources said.

This comes after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Chandigarh’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) registered predicate offences, relating to allegations of demanding illegal gratification through a middleman for the settlement of a criminal case, along with the detection of assets disproportionate to known sources of income.

According to sources, searches are being conducted at 11 premises across Chandigarh (2), Ludhiana (5), Patiala (2), Nabha (1), and Jalandhar (1) under Section 17 of PMLA, linked to the accused, associates, and suspected ‘benamidars’.

The searches aim to trace further proceeds of crime, identify benami assets, and gather evidence related to money laundering, the sources added.

Further investigation is in progress.

Earlier, the CBI told a special court that its probe has revealed “several meetings, negotiations of favours, and alleged delivery of illegal gratification… took place within the jurisdiction of Chandigarh”.

This, the investigative agency said, pointed to a “structured network” of “middlemen facilitating bribery” and “suspect criminal misconduct by multiple unknown public servants”.

The CBI stated that the current investigation was initiated on February 19 against unidentified public officials and private citizens based on a complaint made by a CBI inspector.

It mentioned that this case is a continuation of a previous trap case filed in October 2025, in which a middleman was reportedly apprehended while soliciting and receiving a bribe of Rs 5 lakh on behalf of the then DIG Bhullar.

According to the prosecution, the case stems from a complaint alleging that Bhullar, then posted as DIG, Ropar Range, demanded illegal gratification through an intermediary for extending favours in a criminal case.

A trap was laid in October 2025, during which a co-accused was allegedly caught accepting part of the bribe.

–IANS

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