Rakesh Trehan, popularly known as “Raja D King”, has recently drawn attention in Chandigarh after announcing an unusual charity initiative offering free petrol coupons. The Amritsar-based man’s latest plan, described as a “petrol langar”, was originally scheduled for August 18 but was postponed after heavy rain in Chandigarh and now the distribution will take place from August 21 and continue for three days.
But the petrol initiative is not the first time Trehan has attracted attention for an unconventional form of charity, in recent days, he has been associated with cash and food distributions in Chandigarh and has also spoken about plans for what he calls an “iPhone langar”.
So, who exactly is Rakesh Trehan, and what is known about the man behind these initiatives?
Rakesh Trehan is an Amritsar resident who is popularly known as “Raja D King” or “Raja Ji The King”, he is described in media reports as a cryptocurrency trader and has said that he has been investing in financial markets since 2010.
Trehan has spoken publicly about his family background and finances, according to reports, his father was involved in the textile trade. Trehan has said that after his father’s death, he used inherited wealth for his investments, he has also said that cryptocurrency, including Bitcoin, is a source of his earnings.
Trehan has linked his charitable activities to his faith and has said that he uses part of his earnings to help people, during a recent cash-distribution event in Chandigarh, he said he had been doing such service for a long time and attributed his efforts to Mata Rani’s blessings.
More recently, Trehan told reporters that he wanted to donate 90 per cent of his wealth and said this included a large portion of the wealth he inherited from his father as well as 90 per cent of his own wealth.
Trehan’s latest initiative is the “petrol langar”, under which people are being offered fuel coupons rather than a traditional langar meal and according to details shared by Trehan, ₹500 coupons are meant for owners of two-wheelers and three-wheelers, while four-wheeler owners are to receive coupons worth ₹1,000.
The coupons are intended to be redeemed for fuel at designated petrol pumps in Chandigarh.
The original plan was to distribute the coupons from 5 pm on August 18 at designated locations in Sector 7 and Sector 10, however Trehan later postponed the event because of heavy rainfall, saying he did not want people to face inconvenience in the bad weather.
Despite the postponement, a large crowd reportedly reached a petrol station in Sector 10 after the original announcement and the situation became difficult to manage, with reports of traffic disruption and police intervention. Several people said they waited in the rain but did not receive coupons because the distribution had been postponed.
Trehan subsequently announced that the petrol distribution would be rescheduled and would continue for three days.
The petrol initiative follows another unusual event associated with Trehan. Earlier in August, a “paison ka langar” was organised outside a temple in Chandigarh’s Sector 8 and videos from the event showed people standing in queues while ₹500 currency notes were distributed.
Food items, including McDonald’s burgers and cold drinks, were also provided and bouncers were reportedly deployed to help manage the crowd.
Trehan said at the time that he spends a portion of his earnings on helping people in need.
The idea of extending the word “langar” to cash and fuel has attracted attention because langar traditionally refers to a free community meal, particularly associated with Sikh religious institutions and the principle of serving people without discrimination. Trehan’s initiatives use the term in a different context, applying it to the distribution of money, food and fuel.
Trehan has publicly linked his philanthropic activities to his earnings from investments and cryptocurrency trading and reports state that he has described himself as a crypto trader and said that Bitcoin profits contribute to his charitable activities. His family background has also been linked to the textile trade in Amritsar, however, publicly available reports do not provide a detailed financial breakdown of his wealth, investments or the total amount spent on each charity initiative.
His claims about donating a large share of his wealth have been reported, but the exact value of his overall wealth and the proportion actually donated are not independently established in the available reports.
Trehan has also spoken about another proposed giveaway involving smartphones and the initiative has been described as an “iPhone langar”, under which iPhones would reportedly be distributed free of cost, however, details about the proposed event remain limited.
Trehan has gained attention because of the unusual nature of his charity initiatives and instead of limiting his distributions to food, his recent activities have involved cash, fast food and now fuel. His announcements have also attracted sizeable crowds, particularly in Chandigarh.
For now, Rakesh Trehan remains best known publicly as “Raja D King”, an Amritsar-based crypto trader who has turned his stated earnings and wealth into a series of unconventional charity initiatives and his latest project, the “petrol langar”, is now scheduled to resume from August 21 after being postponed because of rain.
