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AAP leader and Former Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain, who was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) in connection with alleged irregularities in the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) tendering process, said on Wednesday that his arrest was linked to the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections.
"It is done because of Punjab elections," Jain said after being arrested in the case. Before the court hearing in the DJB alleged scam case assembled, Senior Advocate Maninder Singh for Satyender Jain, said, "Supreme Court guidelines have been violated. The grounds of arrest are missing." Along with Satyendar Jain, the ACB is also presenting other accused - Udit Prakash Rai (IAS), former CEO, Delhi Jal Board, Ankit Srivastava, former contractual consultant, Delhi Jal Board, Nagendra Yadav, Proprietor M/s AN Enterprises, Raja Kumar Kurra, Owner M/s Euroteck Environment Pvt. Ltd, Pankaj Verma, Proprietor M/s Srijanhar- before Rouse Avenue Court They have been arrested in an ACB FIR registered on 11.05.2024 under Sections 7, 7A, 9, 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in 2018) read with Sections 42, 409, 418, 120-B IPC. Jain was arrested for alleged large-scale irregularities, manipulation of tender conditions and criminal conspiracy in the tendering process related to the augmentation and upgradation of Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB). Meanwhile, AAP leader and Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Atishi termed Jain's arrest a "BJP conspiracy" and "witch-hunt", alleging that he was being targeted ahead of the Punjab elections. Atishi said, "The arrest of Aam Aadmi Party leader Satyendar Jain is part of a BJP conspiracy and 'witch-hunt'." She alleged that the BJP was not facing similar action despite alleged scams in Delhi, and compared Jain's arrest with his earlier arrest in 2022. "On the other hand, we are witnessing a repeat of what happened in 2022-23. Back then, Satyendar Jain was implicated in a fabricated case; he was kept in jail for two years, only for it to be revealed later that there was no evidence and his arrest was wrongful," Atishi said. She further alleged that Jain was targeted at that time when he was the party's in-charge for Himachal Pradesh, claiming that the move was aimed at disrupting the elections there. "At that time, he was the party's in-charge for Himachal Pradesh, and the move was aimed at disrupting the elections there. Now, as the co-in-charge for Punjab--where elections are scheduled for February--he is once again being targeted as part of a BJP conspiracy," she said. Atishi added, "The people of Punjab will certainly give a befitting reply to these attempts to harass the Aam Aadmi Party in the state." (ANI)
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