Balyan used position to extort, laundered gains: Delhi Police charge sheet

Former AAP MLA Naresh Balyan allegedly coerced landowners into selling properties below market value, linked to UK gangster Kapil Sangwan, per police charge sheet.

Former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Naresh Balyan, who was arrested last year in an alleged case of extortion, coerced landowners into selling their properties below market value by invoking the name of UK-based gangster Kapil Sangwan, the Delhi Police’s crime branch has alleged in a supplementary charge sheet filed last week.

Naresh Balyan. (HT Archive)

The Crime Branch submitted the charge sheet before the Rouse Avenue Court, naming Balyan, the former MLA from Uttam Nagar, along with three others, Vijay Gahlot alias Kalu, Sahil alias Poli, and Jyoti Prakash alias Baba.

All the accused have been charged under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) for their alleged links to Sangwan’s extortion network.

While the court had already taken cognisance of MCOCA sections in a previous charge sheet filed against Balyan’s co-accused, on Monday, it also acknowledged an additional charge under the Arms Act. The case has now been listed for scrutiny of documents.

According to the charge sheet, accessed by HT, Balyan used his political clout to financially support Sangwan’s syndicate and shield its members from arrest.

“Balyan purportedly supplied information regarding potential targets who could be subsequently threatened by Kapil Sangwan alias Nandu and his associates for purpose of making extortion calls,” the police has said in the charge sheet.

The charge sheet also cites the confessional statements of two others accused in the case, Rohit alias Anna and Sachin alias Chikara, who have allegedly said they operated under Sangwan’s directions. Sangwan had told them he had a “cordial relationship” with the local MLA, Balyan, the police said.

Sachin further claimed that Balyan not only provided extortion targets but also helped launder the proceeds of crime by investing in real estate, the charge sheet says.

The police said Sangwan advised gang members not to mention Balyan’s name publicly to avoid suspicion.

The charge sheet states that Balyan would first arrange for property sale agreements to be executed in the name of Umed Singh, a gang member who is currently absconding. He would then create legal disputes over the properties and deploy Sangwan to issue threats to genuine sellers, forcing them to sell at reduced prices.

Police have identified three such properties, in Bindapur, Uttam Nagar, and Kakrola, where Balyan allegedly intervened and facilitated coercive sales to Sangwan’s associates. The original owners of these properties have been made witnesses in the case.

“Such acts were carried out by accused (Balyan) to obtain pecuniary gain and securing undue economic or other advantages by involving syndicate head Kapil Sangwan to issue life threats to bona fide owners of the said properties who are witnesses in the present case,” the charge sheet reads.

The police have also said that Balyan handed over cash to gang members who would collect it outside his office on two wheelers.

Balyan allegedly used virtual private networks (VPNs) and an encrypted messaging app to communicate with Sangwan in the UK. To evade detection, he reportedly used phones registered in the names of family members. He deposited the extortion proceeds in his wife’s bank account, where large transactions were recorded during the probe, the crime branch has claimed.

The police have also named Sangwan, Umed Singh, and one Amardeep Lochab in the charge sheet. Lochab is accused of identifying targets and collecting extortion money. Police said they are initiating proceedings to declare these individuals proclaimed offenders.

Balyan had on Wednesday withdrawn his bail application in the MCOCA case from the Delhi high court. He now plans to move the Rouse Avenue Court. He was earlier granted bail in a separate extortion case on December 4, but was later arrested under MCOCA following the registration of the current case in August 2023 by the Crime Branch’s anti-gang squad.

The first FIR in this matter was lodged on May 31 last year after a complainant reported receiving a ₹1 crore extortion demand from a caller identifying himself as Kapil Sangwan. An audio clip of a purported conversation between Balyan and Sangwan, allegedly discussing extortion of local traders, forms part of the police’s evidence.

Sangwan is a gangster from Najafgarh in Delhi with over 20 criminal cases against him, including the murders of Haryana politician Nafe Singh and BJP leader Surendra Matiala. Sangwan has been operating from the United Kingdom for the past five years, as per the Delhi Police.

The Crime Branch took Balyan into custody in December 2024 in the extortion case.