Chandigarh: The Enforcement Directorate has submitted WhatsApp chats and other evidence to the Punjab and Haryana high court in connection with an alleged cash-for-transfers and administrative corruption racket in Punjab.The claims were mentioned in an affidavit submitted on Tuesday after a division bench of acting Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor on Aug 27 issued notices on a PIL filed by an advocate seeking a court-monitored CBI probe. The court had termed the allegations “serious“.The agency alleged draft transfer lists, policy documents and classified govt files were leaked and manipulated by intermediaries linked to the chief minister’s office (CMO).The ED said the Punjab Police failed to register an FIR despite receiving actionable evidence under Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on July 30. The agency said it wrote to the Punjab DGP on July 30, submitted a report on July 31 and sent reminders on Aug 7 requesting a confidential FIR under the IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act. The Punjab Bureau of Investigation sought additional documents on Aug 28, which the ED provided alongside PMLA statements and certificates under Section 63 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam.According to the affidavit by ED assistant director Akshay Kumar, searches conducted between May 7 and 10 yielded Rs 20.98 lakh and incriminating digital evidence from a private intermediary’s premises. The agency alleged the intermediary conspired with an officer on special duty (OSD) to the CM and others to influence postings, tenders and administrative decisions in exchange for kickbacks.The ED further claimed that retrieved chats showed advance circulation and alteration of draft transfer lists involving senior IAS, IPS, and PCS officers, DSPs and tehsildars prior to official publication. It alleged the intermediary was strategically placed in the CMO to access and extract classified files.During the last hearing, advocate general Maninderjit Singh Bedi challenged the maintainability of the PIL and the locus standi of the petitioner.The next hearing is on Sept 3.
