JALANDHAR, May 30 — A local court has extended the Vigilance Bureau (VB) custody of Aam Aadmi Party MLA Raman Arora for four more days, prolonging his detention to nine days since his arrest on May 23 in a corruption case.
Arora, who represents the Jalandhar Central constituency, was produced before Chief Judicial Magistrate Sushil Bodh. Appearing emotional in court, he alleged that the investigating agency was not only targeting him but also harassing his family members.
“Even my relatives are being dragged into this unnecessarily,” Arora said during the hearing.
The prosecution had sought an additional seven-day remand, citing new complainants approaching the VB daily with allegations of bribe demands by Arora and his associates. However, the request was met with sharp resistance from the defense during arguments that stretched for an hour.
Defense counsel Naveen Chadha contested the need for an extended remand, arguing that the VB could question Arora while he remains in their custody. “We pointed out that these complainants might be politically motivated,” Chadha said. “Cross-examination in court will eventually clarify the facts.”
Arora was arrested for allegedly demanding bribes from owners of under-construction buildings in Jalandhar by issuing fraudulent notices through Assistant Town Planner Sukhdev Vashisht, who was arrested on May 14.
According to the prosecution, Arora needs to be taken to several building sites for identification purposes as part of the ongoing investigation into alleged extortion. The VB also stated it has yet to verify details related to cash and gold recovered in the case.
However, the defense countered that all such assets were publicly disclosed by Arora in his 2022 election affidavit. “There’s no basis to probe these assets further,” Chadha maintained.
The VB has also booked Arora’s son Rajan Arora, aide Mahesh Makhija, and his daughter’s father-in-law Raju Madaan under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Authorities said efforts to trace and apprehend the trio are ongoing.
