The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested former Congress MLA Dharma Singh Chokker, who was declared a proclaimed offender and against whom seven non-bailable warrants had been issued in the past by a special court, from the premises of a five-star hotel in Lutyens’ Delhi, according to agency sources.
Around 08:30 p.m. on Sunday, the agency received an input that Mr. Chokker was in the hotel’s bar with a friend. Within half an hour, Joint Director (Gurugram zone) Navaneet Aggrawal reached the hotel and spotted him. Later, the Investigation Officer (IO) of the case also went there and informed the accused about the non-bailable warrant issued against him by a Gurugram special court, said a source.
It was alleged that Mr. Chokkar and his bodyguard attempted to flee and were chased down by Mr. Aggrawal “after a long scuffle”. After being detained, he allegedly made several attempts to escape from the Investigation Officer’s custody.
Later, a beat constable was called and Mr. Chokker was taken to the ED office. “The courage and valour shown by the Joint Director Navaneet Aggarwal and IO in discharge of duty without fear against ‘habitual offender’ is commendable,” said a senior official.
The agency was investigating the money-laundering angle in an alleged case of cheating homebuyers. “In this case, Mahira Infatech Pvt. Ltd., Czar Buildwell Pvt. Ltd and Mahira Buildtech Pvt. Ltd. had collected about ₹616.41 crore from thousands of homebuyers under the affordable housing scheme, on the promise of providing houses at Sector 68, Sector 103, and at Sector 104 of Gurugram respectively,” the ED had earlier said.
Published – May 05, 2025 08:44 pm IST
