Punjab: AAP MLA Detained From Public Meeting, Was Searched By CBI Last Year In Bank Fraud Case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday (6 November) detained Jaswant Singh Gajjan Majra, an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA from Punjab's Amargah. The reasons for the detention remain unclear according to NDTV.

AAP has accused the BJP of orchestrating a "plot to defame us," with the party's spokesperson, Malwinder Kang, stating, "He was facing problems before joining AAP. It is a BJP plot to defame us... the way he was picked up by the ED during a public meeting shows the BJP's tactics of defaming and pressuring AAP."

In September of the previous year, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted searches at three locations associated with the AAP leader, including his residence, in connection with an alleged Rs 41 crore bank fraud case.

The searches reportedly yielded "Rs 16.57 lakh in cash, foreign currency (of an unspecified amount), and incriminating bank and property documents," according to the agency.

The case against Majra and others, including the Tara Corporation Limited, was registered by the CBI based on a complaint from a Bank of India branch in Ludhiana, Punjab. The case also named several individuals, senior executives, and others, as well as "unknown public servants."

The ED's action against Majra coincides with a series of actions by central investigative agencies against opposition parties and leaders, including AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

The ED is also investigating Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel over allegations of receiving Rs 508 crore in bribes from the owner of the Mahadev betting app. Chhattisgarh is set to vote for a new government in a two-phase poll starting tomorrow, and Baghel has accused the BJP of "weaponizing" the ED.

Earlier, the ED had also conducted searches at locations linked to another AAP legislator, Kulwant Singh, as part of a money laundering investigation related to drug trafficking.