Chandigarh’s ‘petrol langar’ offers free fuel to hundreds, next up: iPhones

Amritsar-based crypto trader Rakesh Trehan, popularly known online as ‘Raja D King,’ organised a ‘petrol langar’ in Chandigarh, offering free fuel coupons to hundreds of vehicle owners.

The initiative was held at Sidhu Petrol Pump in Sector 7 and an HP pump in Sector 10, with two-wheeler and three-wheeler owners receiving coupons worth Rs 500, and four-wheeler owners receiving coupons worth Rs 1,000.

Trehan, who has been investing in cryptocurrency markets since 2010, has built a following in the region for a series of unconventional public giveaways framed as community ‘langars,’ a term traditionally associated with free community meals.

In an earlier initiative, Trehan distributed Rs 500 currency notes outside a temple in Chandigarh in what he called a ‘paison ka langar,’ also providing free burgers and cold drinks to those present.

According to reports, Trehan’s next planned giveaway is an ‘iPhone langar,’ under which he intends to distribute iPhones free of cost, though further details have not yet been confirmed.

The petrol langar quickly drew attention on social media, with videos of the event circulating widely and prompting mixed reactions from users, some praising the gesture and others questioning its long-term impact.

Trehan’s giveaways have increasingly been covered by regional media outlets, turning him into a recognisable, if unconventional, figure in the Punjab and Chandigarh region’s social media landscape.

The petrol langar follows a format Trehan has used before, pairing a practical, everyday necessity like fuel with the community-driven framing traditionally associated with free food distribution at religious sites.

Both the petrol langar and the earlier currency-note giveaway were held in Chandigarh, a city Trehan has increasingly used as the stage for his public giveaway events despite being based in Amritsar.

The scale and format of Trehan’s giveaways have made him a subject of curiosity as much as praise on social media, with his background as a cryptocurrency trader since 2010 frequently mentioned in coverage of his events.

Photo by Ganesh Dhamodkar, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0