Chandigarh: The enforcement directorate (ED) on Monday arrested ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislator Jaswant Singh Gajjanmajra in connection with a prevention of money laundering Act (PMLA) case registered against him last year.
Gajjanmajra, 60, is MLA from Amargarh constituency in district Malerkotla. He was taken into custody by ED when he was addressing a gathering of the party workers in his constituency. He is a known businessman in the area in the real estate, education, hotels and seeds and feed industries.
He will be presented before ED court in Mohali on Tuesday.
According to information, Gajjanmajra was taken into custody after he reportedly ignored four summons issued by ED to question him in the case.
The ED had also raided the MLA’s house and a few other premises in September 2022. A case against him was registered against Gajjanmajra by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which had searched his properties in connection with an alleged Rs 40 crore bank fraud case last year.
According to reports about Rs 16 lakh, some foreign currency notes, property papers, bank accounts details and several other incriminating documents were recovered during searches.
The CBI probe was subsequent to a complaint lodged by Bank of India, Ludhiana branch, against Gajjanmajra’s firm, engaged in trading of foodgrains, located in Gaunspura, Malerkotla.
His firm was sanctioned loans - four times - between 2011 and 2014. The bank complaint held that the firm had allegedly concealed the hypothecated stock and diverted book debts with malafide intentions so that the same were not made available to the bank for inspection and effecting recovery as the secured creditor.
The complaint also held that the loan availed was not used for the purpose for which it was taken.
