CBI Raids Punjab Vigilance: Drama as Accused Run Away After Alert by Gunmen, CBI chases them, 3 Arrested, DG’s Reader Absconding

CBI raids Punjab Vigilance Office: In a first-ever raid of its kind, the CBI late Monday night raided the Punjab Vigilance Bureau office in Mohali and arrested three persons including two middlemen in an alleged bribery case. The action comes days after the ED arrested Punjab Industries Minister Sanjeev Arora.

North Desk Correspondent

Chandigarh, May 12

Punjab’s anti-corruption agency became the subject of a corruption investigation Monday night, when the Central Bureau of Investigation arrested three persons — including a father-son pair of middlemen — in a ₹20 lakh bribery case involving officials of the Punjab Vigilance Bureau.

According to an official CBI statement, those arrested are Vikas, also known as Vicky Goyal, his son Raghav Goyal, and Ankit Wadhwa, an associate who physically accepted the bribe money during a trap operation in Chandigarh. Inspector OP Rana, reader to the Director General of Vigilance, Punjab, remains absconding.

How the trap unfolded

The case was registered by the CBI on the basis of a complaint filed by a Punjab State Tax Officer, who alleged that Vikas Goyal and his son Raghav Goyal had demanded ₹20 lakh to secure the closure of a complaint pending against him in the office of the DG Vigilance. The Goyals, the complainant alleged, were acting as intermediaries for senior Vigilance Bureau officials, including Inspector Rana himself, and were assuring him that his matter could be settled once the money was paid.

During the CBI’s verification, the allegations were found to be prima facie substantiated. The accused subsequently negotiated the demand down from ₹20 lakh to ₹13 lakh — along with a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 mobile phone, specified as a personal demand from Rana.

During the trap proceedings on Monday in Chandigarh, Ankit Wadhwa was apprehended while accepting the ₹13 lakh and the mobile phone from the complainant on behalf of the accused. Both were recovered.

Gunmen tip off Rana; chase to Ambala

What followed was a dramatic turn. Raghav Goyal, Vikas Goyal, and Rana had all been near the trap site, but their government-provided gunmen — present in the area as armed security — alerted them that the CBI was moving in. All three fled.

The CBI gave chase. Raghav Goyal, Vikas Goyal, and the two gunmen were eventually apprehended near Ambala, at the Punjab-Haryana border. Inspector Rana, however, managed to escape and remains at large. The CBI said efforts are being made to arrest him.

The gunmen’s role in alerting the accused — state-provided armed security being used to thwart a central anti-corruption operation — is among the most striking details to emerge from the CBI’s own account.

CBI raids Punjab Vigilance: Part of a widening probe

CBI raids Punjab Vigilance: Monday night’s action is believed to be a direct follow-up to the CBI’s ongoing investigation into suspended Ropar Range DIG Harcharan Singh Bhullar. The 2009-batch IPS officer was arrested by the CBI in October 2025 in a bribery case involving ₹8 lakh, with allegations that he conspired with an aide to extort money from a scrap dealer in exchange for settling a police case.

Subsequent searches at Bhullar’s premises led to the recovery of over ₹7 crore in cash, along with gold and luxury goods. A special CBI court took cognisance of the case in March 2026, noting that electronic evidence and a controlled call prima facie established criminal conspiracy. A disproportionate assets case was separately registered against Bhullar by both the CBI and the Punjab Vigilance Bureau.

CBI raids Punjab Vigilance : The latest action deepens that investigation further — sources say the complainant in the current bribery case is also from Malout, the same town as arrested middleman Raghav Goel, suggesting the Bhullar network may have had connections reaching into the Vigilance Bureau’s own leadership structure.

What Vigilance has to say

An official spokesperson of Punjab Vigilance Bureau released a statement in the afternoon on Tuesday. It said: “A private individual has been caught by the CBI, and the investigation is ongoing. If the name of anyone from the bureau arises, we will cooperate fully with the CBI and let the law take its course.”

Political fallout

CBI raids Punjab Vigilance: The raid comes two days after the Enforcement Directorate arrested Punjab Industries Minister Sanjeev Arora in connection with an alleged GST fraud-linked money laundering case — making this a turbulent 48 hours for the AAP government in Punjab.

BJP leader Sunil Jakhar claimed in his post on X (formerly Twitter) that the raid has sent Punjab leaders and ministers running for cover.

Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia was quick to attack the state government. “The corruption in Punjab is now being exposed layer by layer from top to bottom. Bhagwant Mann has no moral right to continue as CM,” he posted on X.

In another post, he wrote: “My source reveals that Vigilance DGP office has been sealed by the central agency after the raid…”

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