Top Punjab cop arrested in ₹5 lakh bribery case

In a stunning development that has sent shockwaves through Punjab’s police establishment, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on October 16 arrested Harcharan Singh Bhullar, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Ropar Range, on charges of bribery and extortion.

CBI officers swooped down on Bhullar’s office in Mohali, where he was allegedly caught red-handed accepting a bribe of ₹5 lakh from a scrap dealer in Mandi Gobindgarh, Fatehgarh Sahib district.

According to sources, Bhullar had been demanding the amount as a “monthly payment” linked to an ongoing police case.

A private individual was also arrested during the operation. The CBI later conducted simultaneous searches at Bhullar’s residence, office, and another undisclosed location. The arrested officer was briefly taken to Panchkula, Haryana, before being brought back for further questioning. Officials clarified that no Punjab Police personnel were included in the CBI raiding team to ensure neutrality.

Bhullar, son of former Punjab DGP Mehal Singh Bhullar, took charge as DIG Ropar Range on November 27, 2024, after serving as DIG Patiala Range. A Punjab Police Service officer inducted into the Indian Police Service in the 2007 batch, Bhullar had previously led a Special Investigation Team that grilled Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia in a high-profile drug case.

Senior Punjab Police officials have so far refrained from commenting, as the CBI probe deepens into what could become one of the most high-profile corruption cases in recent years within the state’s police force.

The arrest also comes on the heels of another controversy in Ropar — a tense standoff between the Ropar and Chandigarh police over the custody of Navneet Chaturvedi, who had filed forged nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha election. The Ropar court had to intervene to enforce Chaturvedi’s handover, underscoring growing friction among law enforcement agencies in the state.