CHANDIGARH: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA representing Jalandhar (Central) constituency, Raman Arora (54), was arrested on Friday by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau on charges of corruption.The legislator allegedly used former assistant town planner (ATP) of the municipal corporation Sukhdev Vashisht to issue bogus notices to seal buildings and extort money from the public.Vashisht was arrested last week.Arora is the third ruling party MLA to be arrested in a corruption case since AAP came to power in the state in 2022.The sleuths of the Punjab Vigilance Bureau raided the residence of Raman Arora and arrested him on charges of demanding money in exchange for performing official duties at the Municipal Corporation, as well as issuing extortion threats.The security of Arora was already withdrawn on May 12.Sources said that Arora’s name cropped up during the interrogation of Vashisht who was arrested for demanding Rs 30,000 on May 14. Vashisht had Arora’s patronage.Vashisht apparently threatened owners that he would seal buildings during inspections. He also reportedly claimed that he was not afraid of any potential transfer. During interrogation, Vashisht had reportedly admitted he issued 350 notices to stakeholders from April 2022 to March 2025.”He was posted in Jalandhar Central zone one-and-a-half years ago. He served in Jalandhar West zone before that for four years,” said an official on condition of anonymity.It is learnt that Vashisht was arrested following complaints from commercial unit owners and others. The complainants had alleged he had been delaying file approvals and extorting money from applicants.Sources said that the officials of the bureau has confiscated files pertaining to permissions given for change of land use, notices issued to commercial and residential units to pay their dues and authorization granted to residential colonies and development of commercial hubs in Jalandhar Central and West assembly constituencies in the past two years.Arora has faced multiple complaints accusing him of accepting bribes from the public.
Source link
