ED prepares to attach foreign, benami assets of Bhullar and Krishanu
Suspended Police officer accused of bribery, judicial influence
Probe expands to IAS, IPS and real-estate networks
Chandigarh, December 4, 2025 (Bharat Khabarnama Bureau) – The corruption case involving suspended Punjab Police DIG Harcharan Singh Bhullar and his aide Krishanu Sharda reached a decisive stage on Wednesday as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a 300-page chargesheet in the special CBI court, fifty days after their arrest. The document outlines a trail of alleged bribery, judicial interference and the creation of vast undisclosed wealth across India and abroad.
Bhullar and Krishanu were arrested on October 16 after a Fatehgarh Sahib-based scrap dealer Akash Batta complained that the officer had demanded a ₹8 lakh bribe and monthly payments through Sharda to “settle” an FIR at Sirhind police station and shield his business from coercive action. The CBI, during multiple raids on Bhullar’s Chandigarh residence and Samrala farm house, seized ₹7.36 crore in cash, jewellery worth over ₹2.32 crore, luxury goods, high-end vehicles, property documents, foreign liquor and extensive bank records and lockers keys.
Charges highlights corruption and illicit enrichment
The chargesheet has been filed under Sections 13(1)(b) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act for criminal misconduct and unlawful enrichment while in office. Investigators have included forensic records from two seized mobile phones, containing chats that suggest attempts to influence judicial officers and manipulate court decisions.
The document also refers to the diary recovered from Sharda’s residence, which listed the names of bureaucrats, police officers and bank details although these names have not been included in the chargesheet at this stage.
ED steps in : attachment of assets likely
With the filing of the chargesheet, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is now poised to move ahead under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Sources confirmed that the ED has already registered a money-laundering case and is examining bank transfers, benami transactions and overseas investments held by Bhullar and Sharda.
The agency is likely preparing to attach properties acquired through bribery and illegal funds including assets in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Dubai and Canada. The final attachments will be based on CBI’s evidence and financial statements obtained during the raids.
Network of officers under scrutiny
During Bhullar’s five-day remand investigators were told that several Punjab officers had invested money through Patiala based property dealer Bhupinder Singh leading the CBI to identify 14 officers including 10 IPS and 4 IAS connected to suspicious property deals. Eight of these IPS officers are currently posted in key field positions.
Subsequent raids in Patiala and Ludhiana recovered documents that mapped alleged investment funnels used by senior officers to route funds through real estate channels.
Krishanu’s links to nearly 50 officials
Meanwhile, digital analysis of Sharda’s mobile phone revealed links to nearly 50 officials, including IAS and IPS officers who allegedly used him to influence investigations, secure postings, obtain arms licences or register or quash FIRs.
Both Bhullar and Sharda, who were in judicial custody for 14 days, will be produced in the CBI court on Thursday. This case continues to widen into one of Punjab’s largest graft investigations. Their judicial remand will be extended further as both were lodged in Burail jail Chandigarh.
Bhullar facing four cases, more in offing
Suspended DIG Bhullar is now confronting one of the heaviest legal burdens ever faced by a serving IPS officer in Punjab, with four major criminal cases have already been registered against him and more investigations underway. He is facing a bribery case under the PCA, a separate CBI disproportionate assets (DA) case, another DA case filed by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau and an Excise Act case registered by Samrala police after liquor was seized from his farmhouse. In addition to these four active cases both the ED and the Income Tax Department have launched parallel inquiries into suspected money laundering, foreign investments, benami transactions and massive tax evasion, signalling that Bhullar may soon be battling at least six to seven proceedings across federal and state agencies. Mentionably, the Chandigarh Police have not registered any case against the accused Bhullar as foreign liquor and arms and live cartridges were confiscated from his plush house in sector 40, Chandigarh.
