Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Raman Arora has been sent to five days’ custody of the Vigilance Bureau (VB) by Judicial Magistrate Reetbrinder Singh Dhillon on Saturday. He was arrested on Friday in a corruption case. The VB had asked for 10 days of custody, but the court allowed five.
Lawyer Darshan Dyal represented Arora, while Rishi Bhardwaj appeared as the government lawyer. Both sides presented their arguments for about 30 minutes.
Speaking to the media, Arora’s lawyer said the arrest was based on a statement by Assistant Town Planner (ATP) Sukhdev Vashisht, who is already under arrest. The VB said it had found 1 kg of gold and silver ornaments and Rs 6 lakh cash at Arora’s home. But his lawyer claimed these assets were already declared in his election affidavit in 2022, and not earned after he became an MLA.
He also said the files recovered from Arora’s house could have been planted, since Vashisht was already in custody. He alleged that the case was politically motivated, as there were reports that Arora might join the BJP.
Arora’s name was added to the FIR registered against ATP Sukhdev Vashisht under the Prevention of Corruption Act on May 14. The complaint was filed by Sunil Katyal, president of the Engineers and Building Designer Association, Jalandhar.
According to the VB, Vashisht, with Arora’s help, identified buildings—both under construction and completed—and issued fake notices for violating building rules. They allegedly took bribes to cancel those notices.
The VB has found around 80 fake notices issued by Vashisht in the Jalandhar Central Assembly area. These notices were not recorded in the official register of the Municipal Corporation.
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