Satyendar Jain Arrest: AAP Links Move to Punjab Polls

Satyendar Jain linked his arrest in the Delhi Jal Board case to Punjab polls, while AAP called the action politically motivated.

Satyendar Jain Arrest:The Aam Aadmi Party leader and ex-Delhi Water Minister, Satyendar Jain, was arrested by the Anti Corruption Branch on Tuesday in the corruption case regarding the Delhi Jal Board. While he was being taken to the Rouse Avenue Court in New Delhi, Satyendar Jain cited the reason for his arrest in connection with the upcoming Punjab Legislative Assembly polls."It is all for the Punjab election," Jain said to reporters at the time of his court appearance.The arrest of Satyendar Jain has put Aam Aadmi Party and BJP in a political face-off, with the AAP terming the move as a politically-motivated step. This case is in relation to the tendering process of upgradation of the Sewage Treatment Plants under the Delhi Jal Board.

Satyendar Jain Cites Punjab Elections

The AAP co-in-charge of Punjab, Jain, has made allegations about his arrest being linked to the imminent elections of Punjab. The political party has also supported his allegations saying that there is a politically important reason behind his arrest.Previously, he was jailed for close to 18 months in connection with the money laundering case in 2022. This has been the second time that he has come under the spotlight in a political and legal case.Along with him, five other people, among which is the former CEO of Delhi Jal Board, Udit Prakash Rai, have been arrested in the case.

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Jain's Lawyer Calls Arrest Illegal

Counsel N Hariharan, who is the senior advocate for Jain, argued that the arrest lacked legal justification because there was no evidence of ground for arrest from ACB in respect of his client.Counsel N Hariharan said that even though a chargesheet was filed by the Enforcement Directorate in the case but no arrests were made. He also said that the ACB had questioned his client earlier before arresting him.Hariharan added that his client was facing allegations of manipulating the technical specifications of the sewage treatment plant intentionally.But in the meeting record, he said that it was exactly opposite of what his client did. There was no evidence that his client received any bribe.

What Is the Delhi Jal Board Corruption Case?

The ACB has raised charges of large scale malpractices, manipulation of tender conditions and criminal conspiracy in the tendering process of the Delhi Jal Board.As per the agency, the findings revealed that restrictive technical specifications and tender conditions had been made to unfairly benefit the vendor of technology, Euroteck Environment Pvt Ltd.Restrictive tender conditions were included without carrying out the proposed pilot study and certain vital technical parameters with respect to treated effluents had been left out of the tender process.According to the ACB, the former CEO of the DJB, Udit Prakash Rai had accepted a bribe of ₹1.52 crore into his bank accounts and those of his family members via AN Enterprises. As per the allegations of the agency, the money had been allegedly used for acquiring immovable properties.The accusations have come in the course of the ongoing investigation in which the accused have not yet been convicted.

AAP Calls Arrest Political

The Aam Aadmi Party has severely criticized the arrest of Jain as a politically motivated act.National Media In-charge of AAP Anurag Dhanda stated that Jain was in prison when the Delhi Jal Board tender, which is the issue here, happened and raised the question of how could he be made responsible for this issue.Dhanda further mentioned that Jain is the co-in-charge of AAP for Punjab and that the upcoming election is the true cause of this arrest.AAP leader and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also defended Jain. Kejriwal accused that Jain's arrest is made according to the wish of BJP and said that this case will be found to be false in the end.

Investigation Continues

The ACB has made six arrests in this case, including Jain, Rai, contractual consultant Ankit Srivastava, proprietor of AN Enterprises Nagendra Yadav, proprietor of Euroteck Environment Pvt Ltd Raja Kumar Kurra, and proprietor of Srijanhar Pankaj Verma.The case has now reached the courts, where all the charges, evidence, and circumstances behind the arrests will be analyzed.The political controversy about Jain's arrest may continue, especially in light of the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections. While AAP accused the authorities of political witch hunt, the investigating agency said that the arrests are related to its investigation in case of corruption and irregularities at Delhi Jal Board tender process.