Chandigarh, October 10, 2026: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday arrested suspended Punjab Police Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Harcharan Singh Bhullar in a money-laundering case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). A special court in Chandigarh granted the agency eight days’ custodial remand to interrogate him regarding alleged proceeds of crime.
Special Judge Bhawna Jain allowed the eight-day custody after the ED sought 14 days. Bhullar was arrested by the ED at 11:50 a.m. on Friday. The agency is required to produce him before the court on October 17 after the remand period and physically on October 12 in the pending CBI bribery trial, where the complainant’s evidence is being recorded.
The ED registered its money-laundering case on November 6, 2025, following Bhullar’s arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on October 16, 2025. The probe stems from two CBI FIRs registered by the anti-corruption branch in Chandigarh: one on October 16, 2025, relating to a bribery case involving Bhullar and alleged middleman Krishanu Sharda, and another on October 29, 2025, concerning disproportionate assets.
According to the CBI case, businessman Akash Batta of Mandi Gobindgarh alleged that Bhullar, then posted as DIG of the Ropar Range, demanded illegal gratification through Sharda for favourable treatment in an FIR registered at Sirhind police station and to prevent coercive action against his scrap business. A trap was laid on October 16, 2025; Sharda was allegedly caught accepting ₹5 lakh as part of the demanded amount, and Bhullar was arrested the same day. During subsequent searches at Bhullar’s Sector 40 residence in Chandigarh, the CBI reportedly recovered approximately ₹7.5 crore in cash and around 2.5 kilograms of gold, along with other assets including luxury watches and vehicles. These recoveries form part of the investigation.
In its submissions, the ED stated that the alleged proceeds of crime include around ₹9.68 crore in cash and jewellery, bank deposits, luxury vehicles, and approximately 129 acres of agricultural and urban properties in Patiala, Ludhiana, Mohali, and New Chandigarh. Several properties are allegedly held in the names of family members or other persons acting as benamidars. The agency has been examining how these assets were acquired and whether they are linked to suspected proceeds of corruption. Earlier, in April 2026, the ED conducted searches at 11 locations linked to Bhullar and associates, seizing or freezing about ₹1.4 crore and recovering documents.
The ED’s special public prosecutor argued that custodial interrogation was necessary to trace the complete money trail, confront Bhullar with financial records and statements, and identify any wider network involved in the generation, movement, and concealment of the proceeds of crime.
Bhullar’s counsel opposed the remand, contending that the ED had waited nearly a year after registering its case, that the allegations overlapped with the CBI matters, and that custody could affect his ability to assist lawyers in the ongoing cross-examination of the complainant and a shadow witness in the bribery trial. The court granted eight days of custody after hearing both sides. The allegations remain subject to investigation and judicial determination.
Bhullar, a 2009-batch IPS officer of the Punjab cadre (a State Police Service promotee), was serving as DIG, Ropar Range, at the time of the CBI arrest and has remained under suspension since then. Further investigation is ongoing.
