Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Raman Arora appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Jalandhar on Tuesday and joined a money-laundering probe linked to two corruption and extortion cases registered against him.Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Raman Arora arriving at the Enforcement Directorate’s regional office in Jalandhar on Tuesday. (HT Photo)The Jalandhar Central legislator, who was summoned to appear before the federal agency, reached the ED regional office at 11.30am.The ED investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) stems from two cases registered last year against Arora by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) and the Jalandhar police. The agency is probing the proceeds of crime allegedly generated from running illegal extortion and corruption rackets, besides investigating the money trail into the whole illegal business.Arora is among several AAP MLAs to be probed by the ED recently. Earlier, cabinet minister and AAP state president Aman Arora’s name surfaced in the federal agency’s probe into an alleged change of land use (CLU) fraud linked to major real estate projects across Punjab. Then power and industries minister Sanjeev Arora was arrested by the ED on May 9 from his official residence in Chandigarh after raids related to an alleged ₹100 crore goods and services tax (GST) fraud-linked money-laundering case.On May 23 last year, Raman Arora was arrested by the VB in a Prevention of Corruption Act case involving former assistant town planner (ATP) of the municipal corporation, Sukhdev Vashisht, who was allegedly caught demanding a ₹30,000 bribe. According to the VB FIR, Arora allegedly used Vashisht to issue bogus notices and extort money from targeted traders, businessmen, and commercial property owners.Arora is facing two cases, one registered by the VB under Sections 238 (destruction of evidence), 308(2) (extortion by threatening grievous hurt), and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), alongside other provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. He is also facing another FIR registered at the Rama Mandi police station under Sections 308(2), 308(6) (extortion by threatening false accusations of serious crimes), and 351 (criminal intimidation) of the BNS for the alleged extortion of a parking contractor.Arora was granted bail by the Punjab and Haryana high court in the corruption case on September 3 last year, but he was subsequently booked in the alleged extortion case by the Jalandhar police, securing bail on September 22 after spending four months in jail. The state government had recently restored his security cover and allowed him to resume party activities in his constituency.In its 900-page chargesheet, for which the state government has already granted permission for prosecution, the VB accused Arora of misusing his political influence to extort money from local traders and commercial property owners.According to the chargesheet, Arora, in connivance with ATP Vashisht, allegedly issued building violation notices to commercial and residential projects, which were later resolved after the exchange of bribes, with builders reportedly directed to meet Arora to settle the issues. During a raid at Arora’s residence on May 23 last year, the VB seized ₹6 lakh in cash, 1.2 kg of gold ornaments, and several incriminating documents, alongside recovering 75 to 80 violation notices allegedly issued as part of the extortion racket. The chargesheet stated that the victims from whom a huge sum of money was allegedly extorted were intimidated with stringent action from enforcement agencies like the VB and the crime investigation agency (CIA), adding that demands initially ranged around ₹10 lakh, but the final settlement was reached between ₹2 lakh and ₹5 lakh.