Chandigarh: AAP youth functionary Bir Devinder Singh and Punjab chief minister’s office-linked functionary Jitin Gohal alias Raja were questioned by the CBI in Chandigarh on Sunday in an alleged cash-for-favours case linked to the Punjab CMO.Emerging from the CBI office, Bir Devinder Singh said he had cooperated with the agency and answered all allegations. He said he was confident of a fair investigation and justice. He claimed to have answered “70 to 80 questions” over “10 hours”, adding that all the questions related to the FIR.Mansa zila parishad chairman Chuspinderbir Singh Chahal also visited the CBI office but returned after learning he had not been summoned for questioning on Sunday. Referring to his questioning last week, Chahal alleged that the agency’s questions were baseless and accused the BJP of using central agencies against political opponents ahead of elections, as he claimed it had done in West Bengal.Chahal said the CBI had questioned him about recommending an arms licence for a Mohali resident, whom he described as a farmer from a modest family and a small businessman. He said the man had no FIR against him and had not been declared a gangster or terrorist by the NIA. Chahal maintained that recommending a licence was within his powers as zila parishad chairman and did not amount to a crime.On Friday, chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s officer on special duty Rajbir Ghuman was questioned by the CBI for around six hours. Ghuman said the agency had asked him 40 questions. His lawyer, GPS Ghuman, said he had been summoned again for Monday at 2.30pm.The CBI registered an FIR on Oct 5 following a Punjab and Haryana high court order directing it to investigate allegations raised by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in three communications to the Punjab DGP. The ED had alleged a nexus between private individuals and govt functionaries to influence transfers and postings, tenders, policy decisions, administrative approvals and other official matters in exchange for money or other benefits.The allegations emerged during an ED investigation into suspected money laundering linked to irregularities in obtaining change-of-land-use permissions. The high court noted that the ED had submitted supporting material, including purported WhatsApp chats, and said the allegations warranted investigation. It clarified that their merits would have to be established during the probe and trial.The CBI FIR names Ghuman, Nitin Gohal, Jitin Gohal alias Raja, Romi Raja Mahajan, Bir Devinder Singh and R S Nagra, besides unidentified public servants and private individuals.
