Punjab: Jalandhar Central AAP MLA Raman Arora arrested in corruption case
Arora, who is the third AAP MLA facing VB action for corruption, was arrested after eight hours of questioning.
The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) on Friday arrested Jalandhar Central Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Raman Arora, 54, in a corruption case involving former assistant town planner (ATP) of the municipal corporation, Sukhdev Vashisht, who was held last week.
Arora allegedly used Vashisht to issue bogus notices and extort money from targeted individuals. The VB raided Arora’s house on Friday morning following complaints against him. Though VB officials were tightlipped, the AAP posted the development on X: “(Bhagwant) Mann sarkar’s big action against corruption. No one is above the law — not even within the AAP. Vigilance raids MLA Raman Arora over fake Nagar Nigam notices, extortion and digital scams. This is what real accountability looks like.”
The Punjab government had withdrawn Arora’s security cover of 14 police personnel on May 12 after which action was evident against the MLA.
Reacting to the arrest, chief minister Bhagwant Mann said the state government has zero tolerance for corruption. “It is not a fight against any particular individual but the corrupt system for which the government has adopted a clear-cut policy. No one will be spared whether it is our own or a stranger. Anyone who commits any kind of corruption will not be tolerated and legal action will be taken against such leaders and officials,” Mann said.
Arora, who is the third AAP MLA facing VB action for corruption in three years, was arrested after eight hours of questioning.
His arrest comes exactly three years after the VB arrested former health minister and Mansa MLA Dr Vijay Singla for corruption on May 24, 2022. Bathinda Rural AAP MLA Amit Rattan Kotfatta was caught in a corruption case on February 23, 2023.
A VB official said Arora’s name cropped up during the interrogation of Vashisht, who arrested for demanding ₹30,000 on May 14. “Vashisht enjoyed Arora’s patronage. He was posted in Jalandhar Central zone for one-and-a-half years and was deployed in Jalandhar West zone before that for four years,” a VB official said.
The VB said Vashisht was arrested following complaints from colonisers and commercial unit owners. “The complainants alleged he had been delaying file approvals and extorting money from applicants,” he said.
“Despite 70% of building maps in the area having been approved by the MC, Vashisht refused to clear files unless bribes were paid. He demanded ₹30,000 a file to process the case,” the VB said.
The complainants accused Vashisht of issuing threats, including sealing buildings, if the bribe was not paid. “During interrogation, Vashisht admitted he issued 350 notices to stakeholders from April 2022 to March 2025. The notices are under investigation due to the huge proceeds of crime,” an official said.
The VB confiscated files pertaining to permissions given for change of land use, notices issued to commercial and residential units to pay their dues and authorisation granted to residential colonies and development of commercial hubs in Jalandhar Central and West assembly constituencies in the past two years.
Raman Arora and Sheetal Angural, who was the Jalandhar West AAP MLA before joining the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections last year, were the first to accuse the saffron party of poaching AAP leaders in the run-up to the 2022 assembly elections after which the AAP named it “Operation Lotus” and registered a case.
However, Arora attended an event organised by the RSS and the BJP to mark the martyrdom of Shaheed Bhagat Singh in Jalandhar on March 23.
Bholath Congress MLA Sukhpal Khaira termed Arora’s arrest an eyewash “just like Dr Vijay Singla, who was also arrested three years ago but continues to be the Mansa MLA with full blessings of CM Bhagwant Mann”. “If a genuine inquiry is conducted against the AAP MLAs, barring (Amritsar North MLA) Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, all will meet the same fate,” he said.
