AAP Leader Satyendar Jain, 5 Others Arrested In Delhi Jal Board Tender Case

The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of the Delhi government has arrested former Delhi minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Satyendar Kumar Jain along with five others in connection with irregularities in the tendering process for the augmentation and upgradation of Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) under the Delhi Jal Board (DJB).

Those arrested 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 have been made in connection with FIR No. 10/2024, registered on May 11, 2024, at the Anti-Corruption Branch police station. The case was filed under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, as amended in 2018, along with sections of the Indian Penal Code relating to cheating, criminal breach of trust, cheating by persons bound to protect interests and criminal conspiracy.

the case was registered following a complaint by the Directorate of Vigilance, Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

AAP National Media In-Charge Reacts

Reacting to Jain's arrest, AAP National Media In-charge Anurag Dhanda accused the BJP of political vendetta and claimed that Jain was being targeted because he is the party's co-in-charge for Punjab, where elections are due.

Dhanda questioned Jain's involvement in the tender process, pointing out that the tender was issued in October 2022, while Jain had been in jail since May that year in connection with a separate case.

He alleged that Jain's arrest was part of a "baseless conspiracy" driven by political motives, claiming that the BJP was apprehensive about facing the AAP in the upcoming Punjab elections.

Dhanda further accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP of targeting Jain for political reasons, saying the arrest was linked to his role as AAP's Punjab co-in-charge. He also alleged that Jain had been kept in jail by the BJP since May 2022 in what he described as a "fake case."