MLA Naresh Balyan gets bail, arrested again: What's the case against him?

A few hours after AAP leader Balyan was granted bail in an extortion case by the court, he was arrested again by the Delhi Police in a separate FIR

A Delhi court on Thursday dismissed the application of the crime branch of Delhi Police seeking 10 days' custody of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Naresh Balyan in a case related to organised crime, according to a report by The Times of India.  Balyan had been arrested on Wednesday immediately after getting bail in a separate case allegedly involving extortion.

case when he got arrested on November 30, 2024. 

MCOCA case: Balyan granted bail on Rs 50,000 bond

Today, the Delhi police produced Balyan before a session court, seeking a 10-day police custody. Balayan has been accused of being involved in a case that falls under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

 

However, the court refused the police's 10-day custody request. The court said the plea was not maintainable.

 

The court also granted Balyan bail on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 with one surety of the same amount.

 

The prosecution also sought the transfer of his case to an MP and MLA court. On this matter, the court said, "The issue before the court is that the accused person is a sitting MLA and he needs to be produced in a special MP/MLA court. I do not have the power to transfer the case. Show me the precedent."

 

However, the court granted liberty to the investigation officer (IO) to submit the appropriate applications before the relevant court.

 

"What was the need to come here? This is a sheer waste of time. You show the judgement as per which the court is bound to take this (issue). I cannot pass an order now," the judge added during the hearing.

Extortion case against AAP leader Balyan

Aside from the MCOCA case, Balyan had also been arrested in an extortion case on November 30, before being granted bail earlier this week.

 

Gurcharan, a resident of Mohan Garden alleged in July 2023 that he received an extortion call demanding Rs 1 crore from gangster Kapil Sangwan Nandu. Gurcharan also claimed that he was threatened with “dire consequences” if he failed to pay the amount. An investigation by the Delhi Police then concluded that Sangwan was operating from a foreign country.

 

Balyan’s involvement was suspected later last year following a broadcast on a Hindi news channel featuring alleged recordings of a phone call between Sangwan and Balyan.

 

Following this, Balyan was interrogated by the police: “…initially he answered some questions but all of sudden he stopped cooperating in the investigation and flatly refused to answer,” the police stated in their remand papers seeking five days custody of the MLA.

Balyan gets bail in alleged extortion case on Wednesday

 

The police submitted before the Delhi Court that Balyan's custody was needed to “unearth” the conspiracy of other persons in the alleged “extortion syndicate”.

 

They added that his custody was also needed to prevent the AAP leader from threatening others and to collect his voice sample to compare it to the audio clip which was being circulated. The police further stated that they needed Balyan in custody to communicate with and track down Sangwan.

 

The court however denied the police's request and granted him bail on Wednesday.