Chandigarh: Rajbir Ghuman, officer on special duty (OSD) to Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, appeared before CBI at its Chandigarh office on Friday in connection with the probe into the alleged ‘cash for favours’ case linked to CMO.Ghuman was accompanied by his lawyer, GPS Ghumman, who said CBI had issued a notice directing him to appear on Friday, and he complied. According to his lawyer, the OSD was cooperating with the investigation in accordance with Supreme Court’s directions.Ghuman was earlier alleged to have skipped two summons from CBI on Oct 7 and 9. The first time, CMO said no summons was received, and in the second instance, Ghuman issued a legal response to the notice but did not turn up in person.On Oct 12, SC granted Ghuman interim protection from coercive action in the case and directed him to fully cooperate with the investigation. The very next day, ED, too, registered a case in Jalandhar, adding an alleged money-laundering angle to the probe.The CBI investigation follows an Oct 5 order by Punjab and Haryana high court to register an FIR and probe allegations of corruption linked to a section of the CMO. HC observed in the order that details provided by Enforcement Directorate (ED) indicated the commission of a possible offence and directed CBI to submit a status report within two months. Punjab govt has challenged the HC order in Supreme Court.
