Third case likely as CBI measures Bhullar’s assets, prepares to grill him again under production warrant
Chandigarh, October 24, 2025 (Bharat Khabarnama Bureau) – The thorough investigation against suspended Punjab Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Ropar Range Harcharan Singh Bhullar has entered a critical phase, with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) intensifying searches, documenting his assets and preparing to register a fresh case of disproportionate assets (DA). The probe widened on Thursday when the Punjab and Haryana High Court transferred District and Sessions Judge Kamaljit Singh Lamba, who is Bhullar’s co-in-law, amid heightened scrutiny of the DIG’s financial dealings and network of influence.
Judge Kamaljit Singh Lamba, who had been serving as Registrar (Vigilance) of the High Court since November 2022, has been posted to Jalandhar as District and Sessions Judge-cum-Presiding Officer of the Industrial Tribunal. An order issued by the Registrar General on behalf of the Chief Justice and Judges directed him to assume his new assignment without delay. This transfer has been described as a routine administrative reshuffle after the completion of his three-year tenure.
Meanwhile, CBI teams carried out detailed searches at Bhullar’s multi-storey house in Sector 40, Chandigarh, on October 23. The operation was conducted in the presence of his family members and the entire process was videographed after obtaining a warrant from the special CBI court. Officials said that investigators meticulously measured every section of the house, prepared an inventory of valuables and collected information on the purchase value, sources and year of acquisition of household items. The data will be used to cross-verify Bhullar’s declared income and lifestyle expenditures as part of a potential disproportionate assets (DA) case.
A day earlier, the CBI had opened Bhullar’s sealed bank lockers, recovering 82 grams of gold, diamond ornaments and property documents. These discoveries, combined with earlier seizures of cash, jewellery, luxury items and liquor stock from his home and farmhouse, have strengthened the CBI’s case for third criminal proceedings. Bhullar is already facing two cases, one under the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA), in which he was arrested for demanding an Rs 8 lakh bribe and another registered by Samrala police under the Punjab Excise Act for possession of liquor without licence. The proposed DA case is likely to be filed in the coming days once financial analysis and documentation are completed.
Sources said the agency is also contemplating seeking a production warrant from the special CBI court to interrogate Bhullar again in custody, particularly to confront him with new findings on his assets, investments and benami transactions.
Mentionably, Bhullar, a 2007 batch IPS officer, was arrested on October 16 after his alleged conduit, a resident of Nabha, town Krishanu Sharda, was caught accepting Rs 8 lakh bribe from complainant Akash Batta, a scrap dealer from Mandi Gobindgarh. Bhullar was subsequently taken into custody from his Mohali office at district administrative complex and later remanded to 14-day judicial custody. He is currently lodged in Burail Jail.
With three cases now closing in like corruption, excise violation and disproportionate assets, Bhullar will face an unprecedented legal storm. What began as a single bribery complaint has now expanded into a full-scale investigation of illicit wealth, abuse of authority and influence networks that may implicate several other officials linked to him. The coming weeks are expected to bring further revelations and more cases as the CBI continues to tighten its grip on one of Punjab’s most controversial police officers in recent years.
