NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Wednesday dismissed a bail application of AAP MLA Naresh Balyan in the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) case.
Balyan has been in judicial custody after he was arrested on December 4 in an MCOCA case linked to gangster Kapila Sangwan alias Nandu.
Delhi Police has claimed that Balyan was operating with Sangwan, who was behind several extortion and firing cases in the capital. The Uttam Nagar MLA was under investigation since last year after an audio clip of a purported conversation between him and Sangwan surfaced.
After Balyan’s arrest, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal claimed that the MLA was actually a “victim” himself.
Kejriwal claimed that Balyan received multiple threatening calls from gangster Kapil Sangwan, alias Nandu, seeking extortion money, against which the MLA submitted complaints to Delhi Police. Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva accused Kejriwal of “defending” criminals.
Earlier in the day, the court issued notice to Delhi police on a plea moved by Balyan. He had sought permission to sign documents to open a bank account and other documents required to contest Delhi Assembly elections.