The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Punjab MLA Jaswant Singh Gajjanmajra on Monday in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged Rs 76-crore bank fraud. The investigation into the Amargarh legislator is centred on loans taken by his company, Tara Corporation Limited, between 2011 and 2014 that were allegedly not used for their intended purpose. Gajjanmajra, a well-known businessman in the southern Malwa region, had previously faced CBI raids in May 2022 followed by ED raids later that September. Gajjanmajra is the sixth AAP MLA caught up in a controversy. While four are facing police cases themselves, another’s father was jailed in an extortion case. Another AAP leader, not a legislator, was accused of rape in 2022. The AAP has publicly stated it will not spare any leader involved in corruption but these leaders, some of whom are out on bail, are active in their constituencies and attending government events. Kulwant Singh, SAS Nagar MLA On October 31, Kulwant Singh’s premises were searched by the ED as part of its ongoing probe into a money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi liquor scam. The ED questioned him before leaving with some documents. The investigation is ongoing. Kulwant was among the early investors who foresaw the real estate boom in Mohali district and made the most of it. The 61-year-old is among one of the richest MLAs in Punjab with declared assets of Rs 238 crore, as per his 2022 Assembly poll affidavit. Amit Rattan Kotfatta, Bathinda Rural MLA On February 24, the Vigilance Bureau Punjab arrested Kotfatta in a corruption case. It came a week after his aide Rashim Garg was arrested in a Rs 5-lakh bribery case in which he allegedly accepted money from a village sarpanch’s husband in exchange for releasing a Rs 25-lakh grant to the panchayat. Kotfatta was released on bail in May. Recently, Kotfatta has been at the centre of another controversy. Alleging that the Bathinda Deputy Commissioner Showkat Ahmad Parray struck his name from the invitation list for a district-level agriculture department programme on October 14, Kotfatta filed a complaint seeking an FIR under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the official’s transfer. His complaint came amid an ongoing inquiry by the Bathinda district administration into the construction of a house on land under the name of his father Babu Rattan, a retired Income-Tax commissioner. The plot in question, as per the complainant, is “shamlat land (village common land)” of the Patti Jhutti village panchayat. On October 23, a Bathinda Municipal Corporation committee was formed to examine the plot. Two days later, Kotfatta filed the complaint against Parray. Fauja Singh Sarari, Guru Har Sahai MLA On September 11, 2022, then food processing minister Fauja Singh Sarari, a retired police officer and first-time MLA, was caught in a controversy over a viral audio clip of an alleged conversation between him and an aide about extorting money from contractors involved in foodgrain transport. At the time, Sarari claimed the clip contained “edited audio”. Though Chief Minister Bhgwant Mann served him a notice to explain his position, no official action was taken. On January 7, he resigned from the Cabinet citing personal reasons. Sarari went silent for several months after the controversy but is now active in his constituency, attending government programmes and even campaigning for AAP candidates in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls. Vijay Singla, Mansa MLA On May 24, 2022, in a shock move, Mann sacked then Health Minister Vijay Singla over corruption charges. Mann said Singla, a dentist by profession, demanded a “1% commission” in the tenders floated by the health department. Mann said he had “audio proof” and that Singla had even confessed to him. In an audio clip recorded during a sting operation, Singla’s aide was purportedly heard seeking “shukrana (commission)” on sanctioned government contracts. Singla was arrested before being released on bail in July last year. Recently, he has resumed political activities in his constituency and his name has started appearing on the government’s official programmes. Goldy Kamboj, Jalalabad MLA On April 21, Punjab Police arrested Goldy Kamboj's father Surinder and three others — including a woman, her son, and daughter-in-law — in an extortion case. The police registered the case based on a complaint by Sunil Kumar, a property dealer in Fazilka. In a cross FIR, Kumar has been booked for rape based on a complaint filed by one of the accused women. Meanwhile, Goldy said at the time that if someone is found guilty due action should be taken even if the person is from his family. “Let the law take its own course … AAP has a zero-tolerance policy towards corruption,” said Goldy, adding that he had snapped all ties with his father “a long time ago”. Fourteen FIRs have been filed against Surinder, who is now in jail, in the past few years, including for extortion and fraud. Deep Kamboj, former Abohar constituency in-charge On May 21, the Rajasthan Police booked Kuldeep Kumar, alias Deep Kamboj, and three of his relatives on charges including rape following a complaint by a woman from Sri Ganganagar district. Though the FIR was withdrawn shortly after, Kamboj later registered an FIR against the woman and five others on cheating charges. Kamboj alleged the woman was a “honey trap mastermind” who previously extorted money from others. After the initial FIR, Kamboj was replaced as the Abohar constituency in-charge. He unsuccessfully contested the 2022 Assembly polls from Abohar.
