The CBI has exposed yet another corruption racket within the Punjab Vigilance Bureau. Recently, the CBI apprehended three middlemen in connection with a ₹13 lakh bribery case, while Inspector O.P. Rana—the “Reader” who was soliciting bribes in the name of the DGP—managed to evade capture and flee. The subsequent investigation has revealed that Rana was, in fact, never officially appointed as the Reader to the DGP (Vigilance), Sharad Satya Chauhan.
During the course of the investigation, the CBI found no official orders regarding his posting or transfer to this specific position. The last instance of his official deployment occurred in 2020, when Chauhan served as the ADGP (Traffic); at that time, O.P. Rana was indeed posted as his Reader.
Subsequently, when Chauhan assumed the office of DGP (Vigilance), Rana continued to function as his Reader; however, the CBI has found no official orders authorizing his posting to this role during this latter period. Consequently, the CBI has initiated an inquiry to determine precisely at whose behest—and with whose backing—he occupied such a sensitive position.
