Income Tax teams accompanied by CRPF guards carried out simultaneous search operations at the houses and offices of Punjabi singers Kanwar Grewal and Ranjit Bawa on Monday.

Sources said Income Tax officials from Ludhiana led the operation to verify the alleged theft of tax by the singers based on complaints. The operation specifically wanted to tally the actual earnings of the singers with the wealth disclosed by them.

Grewal’s song ‘Rihai’ was banned by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

The song talked about releasing Sikh prisoners who had been languishing in jails for several years. IT officials conducted the operation at his house in Taj Towers, Mohali and another in Bathinda.

A similar operation was carried out on the residence and commercial property of singer Ranjit Bawa in Chandigarh, Mohali and Batala.

The family members of the singers were not allowed to move outside. No visitor was also allowed. Officials said a media release, if any, would be issued later on if the operations detect some incriminating financial activity.

The IT operations come in the backdrop of intense questioning of several Punjabi singers by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on the ‘influence’ of gangsters in Punjabi music industry.