CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday paid an unannounced visit to Bhondsi jail in Gurugram to meet former Punjab minister Sanjeev Arora, who is lodged in judicial custody in an alleged Rs 100-crore money laundering case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Mann and Kejriwal travelled directly from Delhi to Gurugram after obtaining permission from the jail administration and entered the high-security prison to express solidarity with the 62-year-old leader amid the ongoing legal proceedings. Heavy security arrangements were made during their visit, and both leaders reportedly met Arora for around 20 minutes.
Arora, a former Punjab Industries and Commerce, Local Bodies and Power Minister, was arrested by the ED in Chandigarh on May 9 in connection with an alleged fake GST billing and money laundering racket worth Rs 100 crore. After remaining in ED custody, he was sent to judicial custody for two weeks on May 19 by a special PMLA court following completion of his two-day extended remand.
Before being sent to judicial custody, Arora briefly met his family on the Gurugram court premises during a hearing — his first interaction with them since his arrest. During the proceedings, the ED did not seek any further extension of custody and requested the court to send him to judicial custody. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for June 1, when he will be produced virtually before the court.
According to the ED, the case pertains to Gurugram-based company Hampton Sky Realty Ltd (HSRL), its linked entities and Arora, who was allegedly the “beneficial owner and controller” of the company along with his family members.
The agency told the court that during the 2023-24 financial year, the company sold mobile phones worth Rs 157.12 crore to several domestic and overseas entities. The ED alleged that Arora, as the company’s CMD, was responsible for its business operations, which involved alleged illicit transactions.
The ED further alleged that the company, in connivance with its directors, employees and associated persons, used a network of shell entities to generate fake purchase invoices and show bogus sales and exports. The agency claimed that searches conducted during the investigation led to the recovery of key documents related to financial transactions and suspicious investments.
Arora is also accused of routing money through shell companies and purchasing benami properties.