AAP Chief Arvind Kejriwal Reacts To Satyendar Jain's Arrest, Calls Case 'Fabricated'

AAP chief and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday, August 18, criticised the arrest of former Delhi minister and party leader Satyendar Jain, alleging that the action was taken at the BJP's behest and calling the case politically motivated.

Kejriwal said Jain had once again been arrested despite having previously faced imprisonment in what he described as a fabricated case. He claimed the latest allegations would also eventually be proven false.

Questioning the BJP over what he termed "dictatorship", Kejriwal alleged that opposition leaders were being targeted through false cases and sent to jail at the government's discretion. He said that although the allegations would eventually be exposed, the time spent behind bars and the mental distress faced by those arrested could not be compensated.

Kejriwal further said the BJP had reached a point where its actions had exhausted the public's patience, claiming that the "end of the Modi government" was inevitable regardless of how much pressure was exerted.

He also expressed solidarity with Jain, saying that the Aam Aadmi Party and people across the country stood firmly behind the former minister.

Satyendar Jain arrested in Delhi Jal Board case

The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of the Delhi government arrested Satyendar Kumar Jain on August 18 along with five other accused in connection with discrepancies in the tendering process for projects involving the expansion and modernisation of Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) under the Delhi Jal Board (DJB).

The other accused include Udit Prakash Rai, a former IAS officer and former CEO of the Delhi Jal Board; Ankit Srivastava, a former contractual consultant with the DJB; and three private individuals: Nagendra Yadav, proprietor of AN Enterprises, Raja Kumar Kurra, owner of Euroteck Environment Pvt. Ltd., and Pankaj Verma, proprietor of Srijanhar.

The arrests relate to FIR No. 10/2024, registered at the Anti-Corruption Branch police station on May 11, 2024. The case invokes provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, as amended in 2018, along with IPC sections concerning cheating, criminal breach of trust, cheating by a person bound to protect an interest and criminal conspiracy.

The case originated from a complaint filed by the Directorate of Vigilance, Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, regarding irregularities in the tendering process for the augmentation and upgradation of DJB sewage treatment plants.