Delhi L-G gives nod for probe against Satyendar Jain in CCTV graft case; AAP, BJP trade barbs

Jain is already in jail in a money laundering case.

New Delhi: Delhi L-G V K Saxena has approved a recommendation for a probe against jailed former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain in a graft case related to CCTV installation in the city, Raj Niwas officials said on Saturday.

The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleged that the case against Jain was part of the BJP's "relentless conspiracies" against it and the Delhi government. The BJP, on the orher hand, said the sanction for investigation "comes as no surprise" and it was expected long back.

In a statement, the AAP said, "The BJP is relentlessly engaging in sinister conspiracies against the Delhi government day and night to halt its works."

It claimed that with "over 200 cases filed against AAP ministers and MLAs, and sending our top leadership, including Delhi Chief Minister (Arvind) Kejriwal to jail in just 10 years, this case is yet another step towards suppressing the AAP".

The BJP, however, described Jain as a "master of corruption in the Delhi Cabinet".

Jain was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in May 2022 in connection with a money laundering case. Currently, he is in judicial custody.

According to Raj Niwas officials, it has been alleged in the present case that Jain received a bribe of Rs 7 crore for waiving a penalty of Rs 16 crore imposed on a company for delay in the installation of CCTVs in 70 Assembly constituencies of Delhi.

Saxena agreed with the proposal of the Directorate of Vigilance to refer the matter under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act to the Union Home Ministry for approval of the investigation against Jain by the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB), they added.

Jain was the Public Works Department minister and nodal authority of the project of installing 1.4 lakh CCTV cameras in Delhi at the cost of Rs 571 crore, officials said.

The case against Jain is based on a September 2019 complaint by an employee of a company responsible for installing CCTV cameras. He alleged that the company arranged the bribe money through its vendors, officials said.

The ACB also obtained information from secret sources which corroborated the complainant, they said, adding the ACB had recorded the statement of the complainant.

In its statement, the AAP claimed that despite a large number of corruption cases lodged against its leaders, not a single penny has been recovered by the probe agencies.

"Ever since the AAP came to power (in Delhi), the BJP and its Central government have tried everything possible to undermine and paralyse it.

"This includes enacting the GNCTD Act against the Supreme Court's verdict and disrupting public interest initiatives through bureaucracy by withholding payments for Mohalla Clinics and medicines for government hospitals," it charged.

The party said that this is the 201st case against AAP leaders and "like the previous 200 cases, the BJP and its Central government are trying to paralyse the Delhi government because the AAP is a staunchly honest party".

The BJP's Delhi unit chief Virendra Sachdeva said the sanction for investigation into "kickbacks received by Jain from the CCTV installation project was expected long back".

He thanked the L-G for the sanction of the probe and said, "Till the day of his arrest in 2022, Satyendra Jain was master of corruption in the Delhi Cabinet. Therefore the sanction of investigation against him comes as no surprise."

"It's shocking to note that the Arvind Kejriwal government has indulged in corruption even in projects related to women and children's security, be it in CCTV installation on roads in Delhi or installation of panic buttons in public transport vehicles," Sachdeva said.