Delhi court reserves orders on police remand of AAP MLA Naresh Balyan

New Delhi(The Uttam Hindu): A court here on Sunday reserved its orders on Delhi Police's plea seeking custody of arrested Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Naresh Balyan in an extortion case.

As Balyan was produced before the Rouse Avenue Court, the Delhi Police argued that the MLA should be sent to its 5-day custody for interrogation.

After hearing the arguments, the court reserved its decision.

Balyan, the MLA from Uttam Nagar, was arrested on Saturday following the release of audio clips allegedly featuring him in a conversation with gangster Kapil Sangwan, alias Nandu. The clips purportedly reveal plans to threaten and extort money from Delhi builders and others.

In a press conference on Saturday, BJP national Spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia described Balyan as an "extortionist" and accused AAP leaders of colluding with gangsters to extort protection money from traders and builders. He alleged that Balyan's activities were conducted with AAP supremo and former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's full knowledge and consent.

BJP leader Kailash Gahlot on Sunday dismissed claims of conspiracy surrounding Balyan’s arrest, asserting that the matter had been "known to senior leaders for the last one year."

Gahlot raised serious concerns about the lack of action from AAP's top brass, including Kejriwal, despite their awareness of the issue.

"It would be completely wrong to call this a conspiracy because every senior AAP leader has known about this for the last year. The real question is why no action was taken despite senior party leaders, including the National Convenor, being aware of such activities. It is disturbing that the issue has escalated to this point," he said.

Gahlot slammed AAP's purported principles, stating, "AAP initially stressed its commitment to three Cs -- Character, Corruption, and Crime. But when senior leaders and MLAs are involved in such incidents, it contradicts their founding values. The audio clip is not just a snippet; it is a continuous five-to-six-minute conversation that is clearly audible. This is very disturbing and shocking."