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Punjab Police’s suspended Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Harcharan Singh Bhullar, who has been booked on charges of amassing disproportionate assets, was on Saturday (November 1, 2025) sent on a five-day remand to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). On October 16, Mr. Bhullar and his associate Kirshanu Sharda were arrested by the CBI following a complaint lodged by a Fatehgarh Sahib-based scrap dealer. The allegations were that the officer demanded bribe and monthly illegal gratification through his middleman for “settling” an FIR registered against the complainant and ensuring that no further coercive or adverse police action was taken against his business. The CBI court here granted the custody, following the CBI’s application under Section 187 of BNSS (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita) 2023. Narender Singh, counsel for the CBI, mentioned that custodial interrogation of Mr. Bhullar is essential “for a fair, complete, and effective investigation”. He argued “..two mobile phones of accused Bhullar were duly seized at the time of arrest and their forensic digital image was created and preserved in accordance with prescribed legal procedure. Preliminary examination of the extracted data has revealed extensive incriminating chats/communication between accused Bhullar and accused Kirshanu.” “Further, there were several chats in the phone of accused HS Bhullar suggesting a pattern to influence judicial orders and decisions,” he added. The CBI has registered the FIR under section 13(2) r/w 13(1)(b) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in 2018) & 61(2) Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 against Mr. Bhullar and unknown others. The CBI had caught Sharda red-handed while demanding and accepting ₹5 lakh from the complainant on behalf of Mr. Bhullar in Chandigarh. As a part of the investigation of the case, during the search, cash amounting to ₹7,36,90,000 was recovered, out of which ₹7,36,50,000 was seized. Further, gold jewellery and silver items for a total value of ₹2,32,07,686 (from the bedroom of Mr. Bhullar), 26 branded and expensive watches were also recovered. Immovable property documents were also seized, it added.
