The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday conducted searches at 11 locations across Punjab in connection with a money laundering investigation against suspended Punjab Police Deputy Inspector General Harcharan Singh Bhullar.
According to sources, ED teams from Delhi, along with officials from its Jalandhar unit, carried out raids at properties linked to Bhullar, his associates, and suspected benami holdings. The searches covered two locations in Chandigarh, including his residence in Sector 40, five in Ludhiana, two in Patiala, and one each in Nabha and Jalandhar.
The agency is seeking to gather evidence related to alleged money laundering, trace proceeds of crime, and identify benami assets under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Bhullar, who was serving as DIG (Ropar Range), was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in October last year following allegations by a scrap dealer from Fatehgarh Sahib. The complainant claimed that Bhullar, through an intermediary, Krishanu Sharda, demanded a bribe to settle a 2023 case registered against his business at Sirhind police station.
The CBI registered two cases against Bhullar: one related to alleged bribery after Sharda was caught accepting Rs 5 lakh on his behalf—against an initial demand of Rs 8 lakh—and another concerning disproportionate assets. During searches at his Chandigarh residence, investigators reportedly recovered Rs 7.36 crore in cash, gold and silver jewellery worth Rs 2.32 crore, and 26 luxury watches.