Barnala, April 30 -- Nearly a week after Rajinder Gupta, Rajya Sabha member and founder of billion-dollar Trident Group, switched from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), officials from the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) raided the textile major's Dhaula unit here on Thursday.

The PPCB team, comprising at least 18 officials, arrived in six vehicles around 2 pm and inspected the premises, according to people familiar with the matter. The BJP was quick to dub the raid as political vendetta, a charge rubbished by the ruling party.

On April 24, seven AAP Rajya Sabha MPs, including Gupta, constituting two-thirds of its total strength of 10 in the Upper House, defected to the BJP, dealing a major blow to the ...