A court in Gurugram on Saturday extended by two days the ED remand of Punjab minister Sanjeev Arora in a Rs 100-crore money laundering case, while the agency also summoned Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd. (PSPCL) CMD Basant Garg, Director (Commercial) Harsharan Kaur Trehan and others for questioning in connection with the probe, officials said.
Arora was produced before the Gurugram court by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) after the completion of his seven-day remand.
The agency sought his custody for five more days, saying it needed to investigate the routing of funds through shell companies, the alleged purchase of benami properties, and examine multiple individuals linked to the case.
But the District and Sessions Judge extended the custody by two days.
According to the ED, Arora purchased property worth crores of rupees in Gurugram and was allegedly involved in suspicious financial transactions. The agency said the investigation has been underway for some time.
The ED claimed that during searches at the minister's premises, many important documents related to financial transactions and suspicious investments were recovered. Arora is being questioned based on these documents.
The ED arrested Arora from his Chandigarh residence on May 9. Following his arrest, he was produced in the Gurugram Sessions Court, which granted the agency his custody for a week.
After completion of the remand period, the ED again produced him before the court on Saturday.
During the hearing, defence lawyers opposed the ED's plea for further remand. The ED argued that although Arora had cooperated with the investigation, further custodial interrogation was required.
Sources said the ED is now questioning the minister about his properties, bank accounts and suspicious transactions related to money laundering.
The agency is also examining the management and investment of funds for the property he allegedly purchased in Gurugram.
Officials said the ED has also summoned IAS officer and PSPCL CMD Basant Garg, Director (Commercial) Harsharan Kaur Trehan, Hemant Sood, who runs a financial investment and stockbroker company named Findoc Finvest Private Ltd. in Ludhiana, and Jalandhar-based businessman and alleged bookie Chandra Shekhar Aggarwal for questioning in Delhi beginning Monday.
The summonses have been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), officials said.
Arora, 62, was arrested by the ED on May 9 from his official residence in Chandigarh after raids were carried out against him in an alleged Rs 100 crore GST fraud case linked to the sale of mobile phones.
Arora was the minister for Power, Industry and Commerce. After his arrest, the Bhagwant Mann-led government had allocated his portfolios to other ministers.
The AAP politician has moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court challenging his arrest by the ED.