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Chandigarh: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday conducted searches at seven locations linked to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Dr Amandeep Kaur Arora in Punjab’s Moga in connection with an alleged land fraud and misappropriation of public funds.
According to ED sources, the searches relate to alleged fraudulent acquisition of government and institutional properties and the diversion of public money. The investigation stems from a Punjab Police case registered in June 2024 concerning alleged fraudulent mutation of government land acquired for National Highway 754A and wrongful disbursement of compensation.
The ED teams searched several premises, including Arora’s flat at Icon Heights on GT Road and her camp office in Model Colony on Dosanjh Road. Searches were also conducted at properties associated with her husband, Dr Rakesh Arora, family members, associates and a de-addiction hospital linked to him.
The searches triggered a political reaction, with AAP workers gathering outside the MLA’s camp office and raising slogans against the BJP. They accused the BJP-led Central Government of targeting the ruling party through investigative agencies ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections.
Arora, 42, has been renominated by AAP from the Moga Assembly constituency and features in the party’s first list of 40 candidates for the 2027 elections. She also heads the party’s women’s wing in Punjab and is considered close to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s wife, Dr Gurpreet Kaur.
The ED action comes amid a series of allegations and complaints against the MLA in recent years, all of which she has denied.
In June 2023, Moga health supervisor Mahinder Pal Loomba accused Arora of corruption following his transfer to Patiala. He alleged that she had taken a bribe of Rs 3 lakh for the posting of a senior medical officer and diverted government hospital resources, including three air conditioners and a driver, for personal use. Arora rejected the allegations and issued a legal defamation notice to Loomba.
In January 2024, the Punjab Lokpal summoned Arora and three of her family members following a complaint by her former personal assistant, Harsh Aren. He had accused the legislator of purchasing benami properties, extorting money from a revenue official and encroaching upon government land, among other allegations.
Arora denied the charges, expressed willingness to face any inquiry and accused Aren of misusing the AAP name for his real estate business.
A qualified doctor, Arora completed her medical studies in Ukraine and began practising in 2008. She resigned from her position as a medical officer at an Army Polyclinic before entering electoral politics in 2022. In her maiden Assembly election, she defeated Congress candidate Malvika Sood, sister of actor Sonu Sood, by a margin of more than 20,000 votes.
Her husband, Dr Rakesh Arora, is also a doctor and a government employee.
SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia reacted sharply to the ED raids on AAP MLA Dr Amandeep Kaur Arora’s premises in Moga, saying, “Sab fade jaange” (everyone will be caught). His remark appeared to target the ruling AAP leadership amid the ED investigation into alleged fraudulent acquisition of government land and misappropriation of public funds.
The MLA was also involved in a defamation dispute with Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal in May this year. Arora had filed a defamation suit against Maliwal over her alleged remarks referring to AAP MLAs as ‘bhed bakri’ (sheep and goats).
Defending her legal action, Arora had said that elected representatives of the Punjab Assembly were qualified individuals and not animals, adding that she herself had practised medicine for seven years before entering politics.
Reacting to Wednesday’s ED searches, Maliwal took a swipe at Arora and AAP leadership in a post on X.
She alleged that Arvind Kejriwal had encouraged the MLA to file a defamation case against her in Punjab, adding that she would not be intimidated by legal action.
Taking a further dig at the MLA’s earlier objection to being compared with sheep and goats, Maliwal remarked that a goat was, after all, innocent.