Rajbir Singh Ghuman, officer on special duty to Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, did not appear before the Central Bureau of Investigation for a second time on Friday in connection with an alleged cash-for-transfer scam. Instead, he submitted a legal response to the agency’s summons, according to officials cited by the Times of India.
The CBI had directed Ghuman to appear at its Sector 30 office in Chandigarh on Friday afternoon. The notices were delivered around 8am at the chief minister’s camp office, where Ghuman operated, and at his native residence in Gharachon village in Sangrur, officials said.
Ghuman had also not appeared for the first summons issued on Wednesday. Officials in the chief minister’s office had said at the time that he had not received the notice. His latest response means the agency has yet to question him in person on the allegations covered by its case, based on the information available in the report.
The case has also moved into the courts. On Wednesday, Ghuman approached a CBI court seeking initiation of contempt-of-court proceedings against the team investigating the case registered by the central agency against him and other accused persons.
In his application, Ghuman alleged that the CBI had sought an exemption from uploading the first information report related to the case. Although the agency obtained an order not to upload the FIR, he alleged that the document was subsequently leaked to the media and the public. Ghuman claimed that the leak was intended to tarnish his image.
The allegations in the case concern an alleged cash-for-transfer scam. The offences are stated to have occurred between 2023 and 2026, according to the report. The FIR was registered on the complaint of an assistant director of the Enforcement Directorate.
Besides Ghuman, the CBI FIR names brothers Nitin and Jitin Gohal, Romi Raja Mahajan, Bir Devinder and RS Nagra. It also refers to unknown public servants and private individuals. The supplied report does not establish the role of each named person, and the allegations remain subject to the investigative and legal process.
The proceedings place the functioning of the Punjab chief minister’s office under scrutiny because Ghuman operated from the camp office while holding the OSD position. The immediate issue before the agency is his response to the summons, while the court application raises a separate question concerning the handling and alleged disclosure of the FIR.
The next steps will depend on the CBI’s response to Ghuman’s legal submission and on the proceedings before the CBI court regarding his contempt plea.
