Chandigarh, Feb 17: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has issued a formal sanction for the prosecution of suspended Punjab Deputy Inspector General of Police Harcharan Singh Bhullar, paving the way for his trial in a high-profile corruption case. Senior officials stated Tuesday that the order, issued in the name of the President of India, authorizes the legal proceedings based on evidence gathered by the CBI’s Anti-Corruption Branch in Chandigarh.
This development follows the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s decision on Monday to dismiss Bhullar’s petition for regular bail. The 2009-batch IPS officer has remained in custody since October 2025, when he was arrested alongside an associate, Kirshanu Sharda, in a bribery trap involving Rs 5 lakh. Investigators maintained that the payment was intended to settle an FIR registered in Sirhind.
Parallel to the MHA’s sanction, the CBI filed a supplementary chargesheet before the Special CBI Court in Chandigarh on Tuesday. This latest filing includes data extracted from mobile phones belonging to the accused. While officials affirmed that the digital analysis did not implicate additional public servants in this specific bribe recovery, they noted that the devices revealed separate suspicious transactions and a potential misuse of official position that remain under investigation.
The scale of the case against the suspended DIG is further underscored by the staggering assets unearthed during searches of his properties. Law enforcement agencies recovered over Rs 7.5 crore in cash, gold and silver worth Rs 2.32 crore, and documents for more than 50 immovable properties. These findings stand in sharp contrast to Bhullar’s declared annual net income of approximately Rs 32 lakh. The Special CBI Court has scheduled the next hearing for February 21.
