WATCH: ED drags former Cong MLA from Delhi hotel, takes into custody

Ex-Congress MLA Dharam Singh Chhoker was arrested around 9 pm on Sunday at the Grappa Bar inside the Shangri-La Hotel

A CCTV video released by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) shows former Haryana Congress MLA Dharam Singh Chhoker being arrested from a hotel bar in central Delhi.

 

Chhoker, 61, was wanted in seven serious cases and had been officially declared a fugitive by a special court in Gurugram dealing with money laundering offences.

 

He was arrested around 9 pm on Sunday at the Grappa Bar inside the Shangri-La Hotel. The ED said they received a tip-off around 8.30 pm that Chhoker was at the hotel with his bodyguard and a friend.

 

In the video shared by the ED on Tuesday, Chhoker is seen attempting to run towards the hotel exit, but ED officers quickly caught and held him down. Navaneet Aggarwal, a senior officer from the ED’s Gurugram office, was also present during the arrest.

 

Officials alleged that Chhoker resisted arrest and attempted to assault both ED officers and hotel staff. Security personnel were called in, and the local police were notified. A police constable eventually arrived and assisted in escorting Chhoker to the ED headquarters in Delhi.

 

WATCH THE VIDEO 

 

Cases against Dharam Singh Chhoker

 

Chhoker, a former MLA from the Samalkha constituency in Haryana’s Panipat district, is accused—along with his sons Vikas and Sikandar Chhoker—of defrauding over 1,500 homebuyers and misappropriating more than ₹500 crore.

 

The case began with a police complaint filed in Gurugram against Sai Aaina Farms and associated companies.

 

According to the ED, the group allegedly used forged documents, including fake bank guarantees, to obtain licences for their housing projects in Sectors 68, 103 and 104 of Gurugram.

 

According to PTI, the company allegedly collected ₹616 crore from around 3,700 customers, promising affordable housing that was never delivered. Reports further state that the collected funds were diverted for personal use and routed to other group firms in the form of unpaid loans.

 

PTI also reported that Chhoker’s son, Sikandar Chhoker, was arrested in 2023 but is currently out on bail. In April 2024, the ED filed a chargesheet against him and his companies — Mahira Infratech, D S Home Construction, and others.