Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is scheduled to meet his cabinet colleague, Sanjeev Arora, at the Gurugram jail on Saturday. Arora, who serves as the state’s Industries Minister, is currently lodged in judicial custody following his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a high-profile financial investigation. The meeting comes amid heightened political friction between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab and the central government over the actions of federal investigative agencies.
The federal anti-money laundering agency arrested the 62-year-old minister on May 9 following early morning search operations at his official residence in Chandigarh and multiple other locations. The case, registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, revolves around an alleged 100 crore rupee fake GST billing and luxury mobile phone trading racket linked to a corporate entity previously headed by Arora. According to the investigation, the firm allegedly utilized non-existent shell entities to claim undue input tax credits and illicit tax refunds before siphoning funds through complex international channels.
A special PMLA court in Gurugram remanded the cabinet minister to two weeks of judicial custody until June 1 after the Enforcement Directorate informed the judiciary that its initial custodial interrogation had concluded. Despite the ongoing judicial proceedings and the reallocation of his ministerial portfolios to three other cabinet members to ensure smooth administrative functioning, Arora continues to retain his status as a minister within the Punjab Cabinet.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and senior AAP leadership have strongly defended Arora, categorizing the federal crackdown as politically motivated vendetta aimed at disrupting the state administration. Aside from reviewing Arora’s legal strategy and well-being during the prison visit, the Chief Minister is also expected to hold parallel deliberations regarding the party’s organizational affairs in Punjab, particularly in light of upcoming local body elections across the state.
