Satyendar Jain, a leader of the Aam Aadmi Party and former water minister in Delhi, has been arrested in connection with a corruption case involving the Delhi Jal Board. Jain has suggested that his arrest is politically motivated, linked to the upcoming Assembly elections in Punjab.
“The ACB did not provide any grounds for arrest to the accused. The Enforcement Department filed a chargesheet in this case, but no arrests were made. Jain, who had spent nearly 18 months in jail in a money laundering case in 2022, was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) on Tuesday for allegedly being involved in the manipulation of a tender process at the Delhi Jal Board.
As he was being escorted to the Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi, Jain told the media, “It is done because of the Punjab elections”. The ACB also called for questioning in this case and arrested him,” he said.
It said that in its investigation, it was revealed that the tendering process allegedly involved restrictive technical specifications and conditions favouring a specific technology provider – Euroteck Environment Pvt Ltd. “The grounds for the arrest are completely false. There is no evidence that Jain received any bribe money. “Satyendar Jain has once again been arrested at the behest of the BJP. Everyone still remembers the ordeal they put him through by throwing him in jail a short time ago. The previous case was fabricated, and this case will also be proven fake,” he wrote in Hindi.
Jain is accused of deliberately changing the standards of an STP (Sewage Treatment Plant), while the meeting notes say otherwise, according to his lawyer. The arrest is completely illegal,” he said. The anti-corruption branch, in a statement, said the Directorate of Vigilance had filed a complaint regarding large-scale irregularities, manipulation of tender conditions and criminal conspiracy in the tendering process relating to the upgradation of sewage treatment plants of the Delhi Jal Board. “The investigation also revealed that Udit Prakash Rai, the then CEO of DJB, received a bribe to the tune of Rs 1.52 crore in his and his relatives’ bank accounts through banking channels from M/s AN Enterprises, a proprietorship concern of Nagendra Yadav, and that the said amount was allegedly utilised for purchase of immovable property,” the Anti-Corruption Branch said. AAP chief and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who was also jailed in connection with the liquor policy case, said the arrest was carried out on the orders of the BJP.
