GURGAON: Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal visited Bhondsi Jail on Saturday to meet jailed Punjab Cabinet Minister Sanjeev Arora.Heavy security arrangements were put in place by the police. Mann and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met Arora for around 20 minutes.Arora was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Chandigarh on May 9 in connection with an alleged Rs 100 crore fake GST billing and money laundering racket and has been in ED custody since then. He was sent to judicial custody by the local special PMLA court on Monday.Before the Monday hearing, Arora briefly met his family on the court premises for the first time since his arrest. During the proceedings, the ED did not seek an extension of custody and requested that Arora be sent to judicial custody. The next hearing is scheduled for June 1, when he will be produced before the court virtually.ED officials said that since they had completed the interrogation, they did not require the minister’s custody for now and, therefore, he was sent to judicial custody. An ED official said that the chargesheet would be filed within the stipulated time.Earlier, Special Judge Narendra Sura had directed the ED to allow Arora to meet his lawyer for one hour daily between 10 am and 11 am, and to provide all necessary medical facilities and medicines as advised by the medical officer.Arora also moved an application seeking permission to appoint a lawyer of his choice and sign the vakalatnama. During the hearing, ED special public prosecutor Simon Benjamin raised no objection.
