Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Naresh Balyan was arrested in a case over alleged organised crimes, hours after he was granted bail in an extortion case on Wednesday.
The MLA from Uttam Nagar assembly segment was arrested under provisions of the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), sources said, without providing further details on the case.
Earlier in the day, the Delhi Police Crime Branch had moved an application seeking fresh remand of the MLA, after he was produced in a local court on expiry of his three-day custody in the extortion case.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Paras Dalal granted bail to Mr Balyan on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and a surety of the same amount in the extortion case.
On Sunday, Mr Balyan was called to the Crime Branch office in south Delhi’s RK Puram for questioning and was later arrested.
The development came after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleged that Mr Balyan was involved in extortion and questioned why AAP chief and former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has not taken action against him.
The ruling AAP, however, defended Mr Balyan and called his arrest “illegal”. The MLA also refuted the BJP’s allegations and said he would file police cases against those who “spread lies” about him.
A police officer earlier said an audio clip of a conversation purportedly between Mr Balyan and gangster Kapil Sangwan, currently abroad, focuses on discussions about collecting extortion money from businessmen.