New Delhi:The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has given approval for a CBI probe against AAP leader and former Delhi prisons minister Satyendar Jain in a matter under the Prevention of Corruption Act, official sources said on Friday. Jain, who is behind bars in connection with a money laundering case, was accused of extorting Rs 10 crore from an inmate, Sukesh Chandrashekhar, for providing him protection in the jail, they said.
Reacting to the development, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar alleged, "The vindictive and vendetta-filled politics of BJP has now reached a new low that a notorious conman's word is believed and accepted as the gospel truth against a person who gave the world Delhi's famous Mohalla Clinic concept."
Jain held several important portfolios in the Arvind Kejriwal government including Health, before his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in May 2022. Apart from Jain, former director general of Tihar prisons Sandeep Goel and some other staff members were charged with demanding and extorting "protection money" from high-profile inmates in Delhi jails.
The ministry on March 22 approved the CBI inquiry against Jain after which Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena forwarded the file to the chief secretary for further appropriate action, an official confirmed. A complaint was filed by Chandrashekhar after which the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had begun inquiring into the matter and sought sanction from the competent authority to prosecute the former minister under the Prevention of Corruption Act, he said.
Chandrashekhar, lodged in Tihar jail in a money laundering case, alleged in his complaint that "Jain had extorted Rs 10 crore from him in tranches during 2018-21, either personally or through his accomplices, as protection money so as to help him 'live peacefully and comfortably' in different jails of Delhi," he said. It was also alleged that some jail officials had allegedly extorted Rs 12.50 crore from him in instalments during 2019-22, he stated.
Kakkar said the Delhi LG was responsible for law and order in the national capital and added the day is not far when the BJP will face "grave consequences" for its actions, both electorally and legally.
