The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday raided the residence of an IT businessman at Western Towers Society in Kharar, Mohali, triggering dramatic scenes as bags allegedly stuffed with cash were thrown from the ninth floor moments after officials arrived. One of the bags burst open on impact, scattering ₹500 notes in the air and across the premises, while a driver waiting below fled with another bag before the ED team could intercept him. Officials recovered the burst bag containing ₹21 lakh in cash. The money was found packed in double-layered bags, with a red bag concealed inside a white one. Following the raid, security was tightened at the residential tower, with police restricting entry and central agency personnel deployed from the ground floor to the top of the building. The raid soon snowballed into a political controversy in Punjab, with Opposition parties alleging that businessman Nitin Gohil is close to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s OSD Rajbir Singh Ghumman and claiming the seized cash belonged to the latter. Responding to the allegations during a thanksgiving tour in Amritsar, Mann denied any links to the businessman and said the ED action was related to an old company, adding that his government had “nothing to do” with those under investigation. Cash spills after bag bursts, PHOTOS… Key points linked to the ED raid Photos from the society where ED raids were conducted… What Opposition leaders said about the ED raid AAP hits back Responding to the Opposition’s allegations, AAP MP Malvinder Singh Kang questioned whether the ED had conducted the raid “after consulting Bikram Majithia”. He alleged that the BJP, Congress and Akali Dal were acting in coordination against AAP and maintained that the party had never spared even its own members in corruption cases.
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