Former Punjab deputy chief minister and Congress MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa on Saturday wrote to Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman seeking a probe by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and income tax department into allegations that gangsters were spending crores of rupees at weddings and distributing cash in Punjab villages.
Randhawa alleged that gangsters were using money earned through the drug trade to make cash announcements at weddings and spend heavily in the name of charity. He questioned why the ED and the income tax department had not initiated an investigation into the source of such funds.
Recently, the family of gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuria held a community marriage in Dera Baba Nanak.
In his letter to Sitharaman, Randhawa alleged that cash announcements ranging from ₹21,000 to ₹5 lakh were being made at weddings in the names of gangsters. He also claimed that stalls were being set up, boards carrying the names of gangsters were displayed and expenditure of up to ₹3 crore was being incurred at some weddings.