'Entire chain up to minister failed': Ex-Brigadier tears into Punjab govt after DIG bribery arrest

The arrest of Punjab Deputy Inspector General of Police (Ropar Range) Harcharan Singh Bhullar in a bribery case has drawn massive criticism from senior veterans and former diplomats, with retired Brigadier Hardeep Singh calling it an "utter failure of entire chain of command up to the minister in-charge."

"In Army, if an individual is caught doing something wrong, his CO buys it as well because it's failure of command. In this case also, entire chain of command should be held accountable for facilitating #DIG," Brigadier Singh wrote on Saturday, reacting to the CBI action against Bhullar.

The former army officer further added in another post addressed to Arvind Kejriwal, whose party governs Punjab: "Dear @ArvindKejriwal, when you had started #AAP you had said that you were not professional politicians and had come to clean politics from #corruption and bring in Badlav. But you have been ruling Punjab with a brute majority for nearly four years now. Nothing has changed in Punjab. Debt on exchequer has almost doubled. My suggestion is that you should disband the party now since it has not been able to achieve its objective."

Bhullar, son of former Punjab DGP M.S. Bhullar, was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday for allegedly demanding illegal gratification from a Fatehgarh Sahib-based scrap dealer. The complainant accused Bhullar of seeking Rs 8 lakh as part of a recurring monthly "sewa-paani" payment to "settle" a 2023 FIR against him and to prevent further coercive action.

The CBI arrested Bhullar and his middleman, identified as Kirshanu, from his Mohali office. Following the arrest, searches at Bhullar's residences and farmhouse led to the recovery of Rs 7.5 crore in cash, 2.5 kg of gold jewellery, 26 luxury watches including Rolex and Rado, and documents related to more than 50 immovable properties suspected to be held through benami entities. 

The agency also seized four firearms, 100 live cartridges, Rs 15.7 lakh in cash, 108 bottles of liquor, and details of multiple bank accounts. Kirshanu was caught with Rs 21 lakh in cash.

Former diplomat KC Singh questioned how Bhullar, despite "poor performance" in a previous post, was shifted to a high-profile role. "He was earlier DIG Patiala, where also his performance was poor. Who then shifted him to a more high-profile Mohali posting? He obviously had political patrons," Singh said.

Appointed DIG (Ropar Range) in November 2024, Bhullar oversaw the Mohali, Rupnagar, and Fatehgarh Sahib districts.