Jalandhar: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided seven locations on Wednesday, including the Moga residence of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Dr Amandeep Kaur Arora, in a money-laundering probe linked to the alleged fraudulent acquisition of government land and misuse of public funds.
The search comes six days after the AAP re-nominated Dr Arora from the Moga assembly constituency for the 2027 elections.
A first-time legislator, Dr Amandeep Kaur Arora, 44, is the Punjab AAP women’s wing president.
ED sources said the case stems from a Punjab Police FIR registered on June 16, 2024, at Dharamkot police station. The investigation involves allegations of fraudulent mutation of government land acquired for National Highway 754A and the wrongful disbursement of compensation.
Teams from the ED’s Chandigarh zonal unit initiated searches around 6am at Dr Arora’s primary residence in Moga and a flat in Icon Heights. The MLA was present at her residence during the raid.
“The searches covered premises associated with Amandeep Kaur Arora, AAP women’s wing Punjab president and Moga MLA, her husband Dr Rakesh Arora, family members, and associates, including a de-addiction hospital associated with Dr Rakesh Arora,” an ED official said.
The FIR was registered against revenue official (patwari) Navdeep Singh and associate Dilkhush Kumari under sections covering criminal conspiracy, cheating, and forgery. Dr Arora was not named as an accused in the original police FIR.
Following the raids, AAP workers gathered outside her residence in protest, alleging the central agency was acting at the behest of the BJP to pressure the MLA ahead of the assembly elections.
Dr Amandeep Kaur Arora, who holds an MBBS degree, having graduated from Crimea State Medical University, Ukraine, in 2008, was elected to represent Moga in the 2022 Punjab assembly elections after defeating high-profile candidate Malvika Sood of the Congress), the sister of actor Sonu Sood.
In the assembly, she served on the committee on local bodies and the committee on panchayati raj institutions (2022–23).
Her husband, Dr Rakesh Arora, is a government medical officer and practising doctor in Moga. He is associated with running a local de-addiction and rehabilitation hospital in Moga, which was among the key properties searched by the ED during the money laundering raid.
Navrajdeep Singh is a Principal Correspondent. Having an association with this publication for past 14 years, he covers Doaba region including Jalandhar, Kapurthala, SBS Nagar and Hoshiarpur districts. He covers politics, NRIs, agriculture, crime, local bodies, health and education in the these districts of Punjab.Read More