A high-level delegation of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), led by party president Sukhbir Singh Badal, submitted a formal representation to Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria seeking a time-bound, court-monitored Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into alleged corruption operating out of the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO). The opposition leaders demanded the immediate resignation of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, alongside the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against the Chief Minister’s Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Rajbir Ghuman, and the CM's wife, Gurpreet Kaur Mann.
Speaking to reporters after submitting the representation, Badal alleged that individuals close to the Chief Minister had established an organized system to facilitate illicit approvals, transfers, and legal relief for gangsters and offenders. The Akali Dal chief highlighted specific allegations concerning a ₹5 crore bribe purportedly demanded to suppress FIRs in two separate rape and abduction cases registered in Amritsar and Mohali. According to the submission, cancellation reports were filed within two months, allowing the primary suspect, media influencer-cum-businessman Guri Chahal, to be discharged before fleeing to the United States.
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The delegation—which included senior leaders Maheshinder Singh Grewal, Bikram Singh Majithia, Dr Daljit Singh Cheema, and Sikandar Singh Maluka—also cited an affidavit submitted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to the Punjab and Haryana High Court on September 1. SAD leaders noted that the federal agency's submission described the CMO as an active venue for commercializing official postings, government tenders, arms licenses, and land-use approvals. They criticized state police leadership for refusing to register an FIR on the ED's reference, pointing out that state cabinet ministers had publicly dismissed the document as politically motivated.
Seeking constitutional intervention, SAD urged Governor Kataria to exercise his powers under Article 167 of the Constitution to call for official reports from the Punjab Chief Secretary and Director General of Police regarding the state's inaction on the ED reference. The representation further requested the Governor to scrutinize the circumstances under which state police cancelled the rape FIRs against Chahal despite evidence and complaints presented by five victims to the administration.
