AAP on Monday found itself in the soup in the midst of Gujarat Assembly and Delhi municipal elections campaign after Tihar jail sources said that the masseur seen in the leaked video footage giving massage to Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain is not a physiotherapist but an inmate who is in jail in connection with a rape case.
BJP and Congress latched on to the new claims as the AAP had sought to accuse opponents of politicking while asserting that Jain was receiving physiotherapy in Tihar jail where he is in judicial custody in connection with a money laundering case. BJP demanded that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal apologise to the nation and dismiss Jain from his Ministry.
After the leaked video triggered a controversy, Tihar jail sources said the person who was seen in the video giving massage to Jain was a prison inmate Rinku, who is lodged in the jail in connection with a rape case. Rinku is also allegedly facing charges under the stringent POCSO Act, which deals with sexual crime against children.
Earlier this month, CCTV footage from Tihar jail surfaced on social media where Jain was seen receiving back, head and foot massage from a man inside his cell. Jain was also seen having visitors inside his cell.
While AAP claimed that Jain was entitled to massage following court orders, officials pointed out that physiotherapy is not provided in a cell but in the jail clinic by a registered practitioner.
AAP had fielded Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in support of Jain, claiming that he was receiving physiotherapy following a spinal injury and accused the BJP of indulging in "cheap" politics on health issues.
Earlier, conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar had written to Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena alleging that Jain had pressured him to pay Rs 10 crore as protection money in jail. He also claimed that he paid then Jail Director General Sandeep Goel Rs 12.5 crore, following which he was transferred from Tihar Jail, while a superintendent was placed under suspension on charges of providing special treatment to Jain in the prison.
The Enforcement Directorate has informed a court recently that Jain was getting special treatment in jail and had provided CCTV footage to substantiate its claims.
BJP MP Manoj Tiwari slammed the AAP saying, "Shameful Arvind Kejriwal. Doctors have confirmed that it is not physiotherapy and moreover the person giving massage to Satyender Jain in Tihar Jail is a rapist, accused under the POCSO, and not a physiotherapist as claimed and endorsed by you."
BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia told a press conference that AAP is an "arajak aparadhi party" (anarchist criminal party). Daring Kejriwal to respond to the fresh allegations, Bhatia demanded, "Arvind Kejriwal should apologise to the entire nation. Satyendar Jain shouldn't retain the post of a Delhi minister for a minute anymore."
Kejriwal should resign if "his shoulders are too weak" to dismiss Jain, he added.