2 hours Ago By Express News Service
NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Friday sent AAP’s Uttam Nagar MLA Naresh Balyan to judicial custody in a case related to alleged organised crimes, while denying request from police to further extend his remand. The ruling came after Balyan’s seven-day police custody expired in a case under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). Special judge Kaveri Baweja of the Rouse Avenue Court passed the order after Balyan was produced before the court on expiry of his seven-day police custody granted in the case earlier.
The judge dismissed an application moved by Delhi police seeking his further custody for 10-day, which they had sought to continue their investigation. The police argued that further custody was necessary to track down nine individuals linked to Balyan and to trace the financial trail of the alleged criminal activities. They also claimed that Balyan was not cooperating with the investigation.
In response, Balyan’s defense team contested the application, stating that the charges against him were largely based on cases involving gangster Kapil Sangwan, and that several chargesheets had already been filed in those cases. According to the Delhi Police, Balyan is allegedly linked to a crime syndicate led by gangster Kapil Sangwan. The legislator, who represents the Uttam Nagar constituency, was arrested on December 4 in connection with organized crime allegations.
Recently, Balyan had secured bail in a separate extortion case which was registered last year. However, police arrested him again from the premises of Rouse Avenue Court soon after the bail under a fresh FIR registered in August this year invoking the stringent MCOCA. Enacted in Maharashtra in 1999 by the coalition government of Shiv Sena and BJP, the MCOCA was the first state legislation to address organised crime in India.
The rise of the underworld and organised crime in Mumbai was the driving force behind the creation of this law. Following this, many state legislatures enacted laws similar to MCOCA. Many of these, however, didn’t see the light of day as they failed to get presidential assent.
In the National Capital Territory of Delhi, where law and order is under the Union Government, MCOCA was adopted in 2002. According to the Delhi Police, Naresh Balyan is allegedly linked to a crime syndicate led by gangster Kapil Sangwan. The police argued that further custody was necessary to track down nine individuals linked to Balyan and to trace the financial trail of the alleged criminal activities.
They also claimed that Balyan was not cooperating with the investigation. In response, Balyan’s defense team contested the remand application..
