Who Is Naresh Arora? Know About DesignBoxed Co-Founder Whose Pune Office Was ‘Raided’ By Crime Branch

The Pune Police’s Crime Branch on Tuesday evening “raided” the office of DesignBoxed, a political campaign management company working for Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

Naresh Arora, who is the co-founder of DesignBoxed, spoke to the media after the “raid”. He said that the crime branch officials asked his staff about the nature of work they are doing for the NCP and demanded certain documents and phone numbers. “Our staff responded and gave whatever information they wanted. The team sought some documents and some phone numbers, to which our staff members told them that they could not give the information since the senior staff was not at the office,” said Arora.

Arora added that the staff sought their identity, to which the officials responded that they are from the crime branch. He said the officials sought the phone number of one of our senior colleagues, Aman. “The staff told them that they would help them speak to him over the phone, but they refused. We got to know that the team had come based on some information they had received. The police team left their number with the staff. We have been trying to call on that number, but no one is responding,” he said.

Meanwhile, Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar said “nothing objectionable was found” during the raid. “Some information was received about suspicious activity going on at a location in the jurisdiction of the Pune Police Commissionerate. Immediately, a team comprising one officer and two policemen was rushed to the spot to verify it,” Kumar said. He added that during the verification, nothing objectionable was noticed either at the premises or with the people working there. “Thereafter, the team left immediately. Nothing adverse was noticed,” he added.

Later, Deputy CM Ajit Pawar took to X (formerly Twitter) after the raid and said that the NCP stands firmly with Naresh Arora and Designboxed in the matter. He added that the party respects the rule of law and believes in cooperating with all statutory and legal procedures. “All the required information was provided during the process, and full cooperation was extended to the officials. No objectionable matter or any irregularity was found in the course of this process,” Pawar said.

Pawar also appealed against the spread of confusion, rumours or what he described as unnecessary narratives over the development, asserting that any conclusions should be drawn strictly based on facts. The NCP is putting forth a position on this issue with restraint, responsibility and clarity, he added.

Who is Naresh Arora?

According to entrepreneur.com, Arora started DesignBoxed in 2011. The company earlier worked into the ambit of content development and digital marketing. Later, it diversified into the sphere of political digital media campaign management.

Starting with the Punjab Assembly Elections 2017, the company has worked in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly Elections 2017, Punjab Municipal Elections 2018 and more. The report credits Arora for reviving the fortunes of the Congress Party in many states, with his aggressive campaign management.

Since the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, Arora has been working with Ajit Pawar’s NCP. Ever since his arrival, the NCP has started using pink colour in all its campaign material. Even Ajit Pawar was seen wearing pink jackets on several occasions. The colour, which is associated with feminine energy, is being used to reach out to women, a key electorate. This was reportedly to project Pawar as an urban leader as opposed to his rustic image.