CHANDIGARH: The Enforcement Directorate conducted searches at multiple locations in Punjab on Monday as part of a money laundering probe against former state police DIG Harcharan Singh Bhullar and entities linked to him, officials said. They said about 11 premises in Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Patiala, Nabha and Jalandhar linked to the accused, his associates and suspected benamidars (the owner in whose name a benami property is held) are being covered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), according to news agency PTI. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe stems from a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case registered against Bhullar on allegations that he sought illegal gratification through a middleman for settlement of a criminal case, along with detection of assets disproportionate to known sources of income. The searches aim to trace further proceedings of the alleged crime, identify benami assets and gather evidence related to money laundering, ED officials said. Bhullar, who was serving as the deputy inspector general of police (Ropar Range), was arrested by the CBI in October 2025 after a scrap dealer alleged that bribe was demanded from him through an intermediary to settle a case.
