The Enforcement Directorate on Friday conducted searches at premises linked to Aam Aadmi Party MLA and Punjab minister Sanjeev Arora in connection with alleged foreign exchange violations, PTI quoted unidentified officials as saying.
Raids were carried out at 13 locations in Gurgaon, Chandigarh, Ludhiana and Jalandhar under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, The New Indian Express reported, quoting unidentified officials.
The action came two days after the enforcement agency carried out raids at the home of Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Mittal, as well as several other premises linked to him in Punjab and Haryana.
The searches were conducted about two weeks after Mittal replaced AAP leader Raghav Chadha as the party’s deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha.
The agency’s raids at Arora’s residence as well as properties linked to his family members, including his son and business associates, began at around 6.30 am on Friday, reported PTI.
This was done while Arora was travelling to Europe as part of the Punjab government’s “Invest Punjab” initiative to attract foreign investment, according to The New Indian Express.
The newspaper reported that the action is linked to Hampton Sky Realty Limited, a company which has business interests in real estate and infrastructure. The firm is promoted by Arora and his son serves as its managing director.
On Friday morning, Arora said on social media that he would cooperate with the investigation
“I am confident that the truth will prevail,” he added.
Pointing out that this was the second ED raid at the residence of a leader of his party within three days, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi if he would tell the public how much “black money” had been recovered.
“The entire country is watching how petty politics you are indulging in just for the sake of power,” Kejriwal said.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government was “murdering” democracy and that only “non-BJP governments are being harassed”, The New Indian Express reported.
“Government agencies are targeting the AAP because it is growing very fast and has become a national party in a short span of 10 years,” Hindustan Times quoted the chief minister as saying.
The agency had also raided Arora in 2024, reported PTI.
Back then, the Enforcement Directorate had alleged that companies linked to him and other entities caused losses to the state exchequer and generated “huge” proceeds of crime by misusing industrial land for residential projects.
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