Suspended Ropar range DIG Harcharan Singh Bhullar, already in the spotlight for a major bribery case, has now been booked in a separate case following the recovery of liquor bottles from his farmhouse in Samrala, Ludhiana district. The FIR was registered on Saturday by the Khanna police based on a complaint-cum-report filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The FIR, filed under sections 61/1/14 of the Excise Act, pertains to the recovery of 108 liquor bottles worth nearly Rs 3 lakh from Bhullar’s farmhouse near Dayalpura. Satinder Singh, DIG of Ferozepur range, confirmed that the FIR was lodged on the basis of the CBI’s complaint and that the excise department will lead the investigation in coordination with the CBI.
“The FIR has been registered on the complaint of a CBI inspector. The officer was allegedly in possession of liquor without a licence. We were only instructed to register the FIR, which has been done,” said a Khanna police official.
Bhullar, a 2009-batch IPS officer, was arrested by the CBI on Thursday in a bribery case. According to the agency, he was caught demanding and accepting illegal gratification from a businessman through an associate to settle an FIR against the complainant.
The CBI stated that recoveries from Bhullar’s residence in Chandigarh included cash of approximately Rs 7.5 crore, gold jewellery weighing 2.5 kg, 26 luxury watches, documents related to over 50 immovable properties held by family members and suspected benami entities, and four firearms along with 100 live cartridges.
From his Samrala farmhouse, the agency also recovered 108 liquor bottles, cash worth Rs 5.7 lakh, and 17 live cartridges.
