Former Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday reacted sharply to the arrest of Punjab minister and businessman Sanjeev Arora in a money laundering case.
In a post on X, Kejriwal wrote, “A person’s character is known during difficult times. Sanjeev Arora chose jail instead of joining the BJP. Salute to him.”
Arora was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) after raids conducted on Saturday at his government residence in Chandigarh’s Sector 2, along with multiple locations in Delhi and Gurugram. Officials said Arora was questioned for nearly 10 hours before being taken to Delhi around 5 pm in vehicles bearing Chandigarh and Haryana registration numbers. Further interrogation will now take place in Delhi, where he spent the night in ED custody.
According to the ED, raids were carried out at six locations linked to Arora. The agency alleged that firms connected to him generated fake sales worth nearly Rs 157.12 crore through bogus mobile phone transactions and fraudulent exports routed via shell companies.
The ED further claimed that these exports were allegedly used for illegal round-tripping of funds from Dubai to India. Investigators also accused the firms of availing fake Input Tax Credit (ITC), GST refunds and duty drawbacks using forged GST purchase invoices from non-existent firms in Delhi, causing losses to the government exchequer while generating unlawful gains.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann alleged that ED raids were being used as a political tool to pressure leaders into joining the BJP. Referring to a recent raid on Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Mittal, Mann claimed that after two days of searches, Mittal joined the BJP on the third day. “The real meaning of BJP is Bharat Jalao Party,” Mann said.
