Punjab middleman's chats reveal 'payoffs' to 3 IAS & 1 IPS officer

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is probing alleged financial dealings between a Punjab-based intermediary and serving and retired public servants after forensic extraction of encrypted WhatsApp chats from the intermediary's mobile phone allegedly revealed a series of payments and offers linked to official favours, people in the know told ET.

The WhatsApp chats identify three IAS officers, including a retired officer, an IPS officer, a Punjab Police Service (PPS) officer and a Punjab Civil Services (PCS) officer in connection with alleged transactions involving the intermediary, Kirshanu Sharda. The ED is likely to summon these officers for questioning, agency sources told ET.

The alleged dealings relate to a range of official interventions, including the clearance of government files, access to confidential project information, favourable administrative orders, issuance of no-objection certificates and influencing police postings, people quoted above said.


The internal account of the investigation records an alleged payment exceeding ₹10 lakh to a retired IAS officer in connection with the processing of official files and clearances for forestry projects.

In another instance, an IAS officer was allegedly paid to facilitate permanent entry passes to the state secretariat and secure favourable administrative orders for private entities.

"Chats reveal that another (third) IAS officer, who was serving in the housing and urban development department, allegedly shared internal project files and information with the intermediary in exchange for cash payments totalling around Rs 10 lakh," an officer told ET on condition of anonymity.

The chats also allegedly refer to a cash offer of ₹10 lakh involving a PPS officer, who was then posted as a Senior Superintendent of Police, for securing the suspension of a sub-inspector and influencing police postings.

In a separate transaction involving an IPS officer, the chats refer to a cash settlement of ₹2 crore paid directly to a complainant in connection with a sensitive harassment case. The alleged settlement was intended to bring the matter to a close, sources added. It may be clarified that the said chat does not specify whether any amount was paid to the IPS officer.

The alleged network also included a PCS officer, through whom the intermediary purportedly channelled money to secure government no-objection certificates for private nursing colleges and medical centres.

The agency's examination of the chats and related probe material is part of a wider investigation into Sharda, who was arrested along with a senior Punjab Police officer in October 2025 in a bribery case. The two were allegedly caught accepting ₹5 lakh from a complainant as part of a larger bribe demand.

The federal agency has been examining Sharda's alleged role as a conduit for facilitating favours from public servants in return for illegal gratification. The recovered digital material and other records are being examined to establish the nature of the alleged transactions and the involvement of other persons, sources added.

The ED's money-laundering investigation is linked to the bribery case, while the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has separately examined digital material recovered from the phones of the arrested accused. In a court filing reported earlier this year, the CBI said its analysis had indicated suspected instances of illegal gratification involving other public servants and private individuals, which were being examined separately.