New Delhi:

Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court on Sunday remanded Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Naresh Balyan to two days of police custody in connection with an extortion case.

Naresh Balyan was arrested by the Delhi Police Crime Branch on Saturday.

“Delhi Police’s Crime Branch has arrested Naresh Balyan, MLA of the Delhi Legislative Assembly, in connection with an extortion case. The arrest followed the examination of an audio clip featuring a conversation between the MLA and notorious gangster Kapil Sangwan alias Nandu,” the Delhi Police posted on X on Saturday.

This development follows the release of an audio clip by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), purportedly featuring the AAP legislator from Uttam Nagar instructing gangster Kapil Sangwan, also known as Nandu.

“In this case, there is an audio recording of a conversation between Kapil Sangwan alias Nandu and AAP MLA Naresh Balyan available in the public domain. The ongoing action by the Delhi Police against gangsters operating from abroad also aims to identify their local associates. The primary objective of organised crime conducted from abroad is financial gain,” the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) said.

On Saturday, BJP leader Gaurav Bhatia alleged that Naresh Balyan was involved in extortion with the assistance of a gangster, claiming that “gangsters are the biggest supporters of AAP.”

Addressing a press conference in the national capital, Bhatia stated, “AAP has become a party of goons. Gangsters are the biggest supporters of AAP. They openly extort money by threatening the common man under the instructions of AAP MLAs. With the consent of Arvind Kejriwal, AAP MLAs are running extortion rackets by intimidating innocent citizens.”

“In an audio clip of AAP’s ‘extortionist’ MLA Naresh Balyan, he is heard talking to a gangster about extorting money from a builder. Is it the job of an MLA, who has sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution, to threaten citizens and run an extortion racket with Kejriwal’s approval?” Bhatia added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

AAP legislator Naresh Balyan was arrested in Delhi on Saturday in connection with an extortion case lodged last year, police said.

The MLA from Delhi’s Uttam Nagar Assembly segment was called to the Delhi Police’s Crime Branch office in R K Puram for questioning and was later arrested, they said.

The development came hours after the BJP alleged that Naresh Balyan was involved in extortion activities and questioned why AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal has not taken action against him.

The Aam Aadmi Party defended Naresh Balyan, claiming that his arrest was illegal. The MLA had refuted the BJP’s allegations and said he would lodge police cases against those who “spread lies” about him.

A police official said that an audio clip of a conversation purportedly between Naresh Balyan and gangster Kapil Sangwan, currently based abroad, had gone viral on social media.

The conversation involved discussions about collecting extortion money from businessmen, he said, adding further investigation and interrogation was underway.

AAP MP Sanjay Singh alleged that since Arvind Kejriwal has started raising the issue of law and order and rising crime in Delhi, the BJP and the central government are “trying to harass and conspire against his party leaders”.

“Naresh Balyan has been arrested under this conspiracy and the charges against him are baseless,” Sanjay Singh claimed.

“The BJP leaders have played a fake audio despite the High Court’s order against it. Naresh Balyan himself complained to the police about multiple threats received by him from the gangster Kapil Sangwan,” he claimed

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)