In a major development, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday questioned Jalandhar Police Commissioner Kuldeep Singh Chahal for alleged corruption and misconduct accusations during his tenure as the SSP, Chandigarh. As per reports, Jalandhar Police Commissioner Kuldeep Singh Chahal was summoned to Chandigarh by the CBI on Friday and hence the top cop had reached the spot for questioning. Chahal has been facing a series of accusations of disproportionate asset cases & even misconduct. Senior IPS Officer Kuldeep Chahal has been accused of creating illegitimate property and also accused of abuse of office which is being investigated by CBI.
For the unversed, the CBI launched an enquiry against Kuldeep Chahal on a reference from Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator Banwarilal Purohit. As per references forwarded by the Punjab Governor, Kuldeep Chahal, a 2009-batch IPS officer was prematurely repatriated from Chandigarh to his parent cadre in Punjab, allegedly due to charges of misconduct. Punjab Governor-cum-UT Administrator, Banwarilal Purohit, had repatriated Chahal from Chandigarh to Punjab following the allegations of misconduct against him. Chahal was repatriated just 10 months back before completing his tenure of 3 years as SSP. Kuldeep Chahal had joined as SSP (UT) in October 2019, however, he was repatriated on December 12, 2022.
Notably, Kuldeep Singh Chahal's repatriation also sparked Punjab CM vs Punjab Governor controversy. Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann rejected the move of the Punjab Governor to repatriate Chahal just 10 months before the completion of his tenure and also appointed a Haryana cadre IPS officer to the same post. In a letter written by Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, he stated, "The post of Senior Superintendent of Police, Union Territory, Chandigarh has traditionally been occupied by a Punjab-cadre IPS officer and that of Deputy Commissioner, Chandigarh by a Haryana-cadre officer. However, I am surprised to learn that Kuldeep Singh Chahal IPS (PB:2009) has been repatriated to Punjab prematurely and the charge of this post has been given to a Haryana-cadre IPS officer. This is going to disturb the balance among the States in running the affairs of UT, Chandigarh."
In response, Punjab Governor Purohit also wrote a letter and alleged that Chahal was repatriated due to serious inputs of misconduct of SSP UT Chahal. Purohit stated that the allegations of misconduct against Chahal was authenticated by his reliable sources and therefore the decision was taken.
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Coming back to Kuldeep Chahal's case, the exact charges against him are kept under wraps, however, a report suggested that he is in legal trouble due to allegations levelled by a CEO-rank official of a private shopping mall directly to the Governor.