On the morning of May 7th, 2026, the ED raid near Kharar became very public. Bags of money were thrown from a high-rise and you could see the money floating in the air. The ED says they recovered approximately 2.1 million rupees, and this has led to a lot more political attention on people opponents say are in Bhagwant Mann’s group.
Cash in the air, a chase on the ground
The ED team went to Flat 906 in Western Towers, Sector 127, Chajju Majra, Mohali, to search the home of Nitin Gohal, who works in IT. While they were searching, two bags containing money were thrown from the ninth floor, and surprised people out for a morning walk reported that bills were falling everywhere.
A spokesman for the Punjab Government said a driver grabbed one of the bags, but ED agents followed and caught him, getting back roughly 2.1 million rupees. The authorities took the bags and continued searching for quite a while. They also raided places in Sector 16 in Chandigarh and in Patiala as part of the same operation.
Why the targets matter
The ED believes the search of Gohal’s home is because he is accused of helping builders who hadn’t paid their fees to the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority, and also of getting them political support. People also say Gohal is close to someone who works with the Chief Minister, and this idea has made the political side of things even more important.
Bikram Singh Majithia from the BJP posted videos and photos on X (formerly Twitter) showing bundles of 500 rupee notes blowing around outside the building. He says Gohal is connected to Rajbir Singh Ghumman, who is Officer on Special Duty to the Chief Minister. The ED also searched the properties of Bir Devinder Singh in Mohali; sources say he is close to someone in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Government distances itself
The Punjab Government spokesman insists that the person at the center of the raid isn’t really close to the Chief Minister’s office, and says just being in pictures with leaders doesn’t mean you’re close to them. Officials aren’t saying much about the larger investigation, only that it’s ongoing.
Here are the sharply diverging positions aired publicly during the day:
– ED is probing alleged financial irregularities
– The state denies any special proximity to CM’s office
– Opposition claims the CM’s aides are under scrutiny
Wider operation tracks real estate money
In a separate set of searches, the agency looked at several places in Punjab and Chandigarh, using the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. They were concentrating on builders and real estate firms in a supposed land scam. Officials said about a dozen places in Mohali and Chandigarh connected to the Suntec City project, Ajay Sehgal, ABS Townships, Altus Builders, Dhir Constructions and related people were searched.
Investigators are looking at how money could have been sent through ‘hawala’ (an unofficial way of transferring money), connections to property, and fake transactions. Therefore, the ED’s activity on May 7th, 2026 isn’t just about one apartment; it shows a bigger effort to investigate money going through real estate in the area.
Recent pattern raises stakes for AAP
Last month, the agency searched places connected to locations in Ludhiana, Chandigarh and other cities under the Foreign Exchange Management Act. They mentioned financial problems, including what they suspect is misuse of land used for industry and money laundering tied to Arora and his business partners’ real estate activities.
A few days before that, the ED raided places connected to Ashok Mittal, an AAP member of the Rajya Sabha (the upper house of parliament) who later joined the BJP and founded Lovely Professional University. These searches happened at schools and other properties in Punjab and Haryana, also under FEMA. AAP leaders said these actions were done for political reasons and accused the national government of using its agencies before the Punjab Assembly elections in 2027.
What comes next
The ED hasn’t given all the details of what they’ve seized or exactly what they’re investigating. Because the raids have touched on networks with political influence and many real estate businesses, the legal and political pressure is likely to get stronger.
The next steps in this investigation could be very important for the property market in Punjab and for who has power in the state. More actions in Mohali and Chandigarh are probably coming as officials follow the money and find who has benefited.
