StatesPunjab
CBI asks Punjab for files on transfers and CMO hiring in case against Mann's aide
The agency's letter lists 20 kinds of official decisions it wants to examine in the corruption case against Rajbir Singh Ghuman. The state told departments to hand over records by 1 pm on Wednesday.
Key points
- The CBI has sought original files on 20 categories of decisions, from transfers to arms licences.
- Punjab's Personnel Department told officials to produce the records by 1 pm on 14 October.
- The High Court wants the CBI's report by 4 December 2026.
The CBI has asked the Punjab government for original files on transfers, appointments in the Chief Minister’s Office and a string of other official decisions, as it investigates corruption allegations against Rajbir Singh Ghuman, officer on special duty to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
In a letter dated 12 October to the Chief Secretary, the agency listed 20 categories of decisions whose files, noting sheets and drafts it wants to see. They include transfer policies and transfers, appointments in the CMO, changes to distributorships in the Animal Husbandry Department, recruitment of assistant town planners, housing projects in Zirakpur, hospital licence renewals, procurement by Verka, and arms licence applications involving nine people.
“The aforesaid files and details are urgently required for investigation,” the CBI wrote. The letter names Jitin Kumar Goyal, also known as Raja, a production manager in the CMO, and seeks arms licence records relating to Gagandeep Singh Ahluwalia, chairman of the Punjab Khadi and Village Industries Board, and Dr Romi Raja Mahajan.
On Wednesday the Personnel Department told departments to make the records available by 1 pm so they could be passed to the agency. Gautam Jain, Special Secretary (Personnel), has been named the nodal officer for dealing with the CBI.
The case was registered on the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s order of 5 October, which asked for a report by 4 December. On 12 October the Supreme Court refused to stay the FIR, barred coercive action and told the state to cooperate with the investigation. A request for records does not by itself establish any wrongdoing. Mann has called the case part of the BJP’s election campaign in Punjab.