Senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader, former Delhi minister and Punjab AAP co-incharge Satyendar Jain, was arrested by the Delhi government’s Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) on Tuesday in connection with an alleged corruption case involving the tendering of Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) projects of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB).
Jain was among six people arrested in the case, which involves alleged irregularities, manipulation of tender conditions and criminal conspiracy in the STP tendering process.
Former DJB CEO Udit Prakash Rai and four others were also arrested. The ACB has alleged that restrictive technical specifications and tender conditions were introduced in a manner that favoured a particular technology provider.
The agency has also alleged a financial trail involving intermediary entities and claimed that ₹1.52 crore was transferred to the bank accounts of Udit Prakash Rai and his relatives through AN Enterprises. The investigation into the alleged money trail is continuing.
Kejriwal Defends Jain
AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal strongly defended Jain, alleging that he had once again been arrested at the behest of the BJP.
Kejriwal claimed that the earlier case against Jain was fabricated and said the latest case would also ultimately be proved false. He accused the BJP of targeting political opponents and called the action part of what he described as “dictatorship.”
Sisodia Calls Arrest an Election-Time Tactic
Former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and AAP Punjab in-charge Manish Sisodia also came out in support of Jain.
Sisodia said that with the Punjab elections approaching, the arrest of Punjab co-incharge Satyendar Jain was significant. He alleged that Jain had earlier been kept in jail for two-and-a-half years in what he termed a “fake case” and claimed that another false case had now been brought against him.
Referring to the GenZ movement, the Ram Temple donation issue and the E20 controversy, Sisodia alleged that the BJP, which he claimed was “cornered on all fronts,” had once again resorted to what he described as the ED-ACB-CBI’s “old election-time tactics.”
