New Delhi [India], August 19 (ANI): A Rouse Avenue court on Wednesday remanded former Delhi Minister of Water and AAP leader Satyendar Jain and four other accused to 14 days of judicial custody in connection with the Delhi Jal Board tender scam case, while accused Ankit Shrivastava was remanded to two days of custody.
The court’s order came after the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) produced Jain and the other accused before it following their arrest in connection with an FIR registered on May 11, 2024.
The bail applications of the accused have been listed for hearing on August 25.
Jain, who held the Water portfolio in the previous Delhi government, has been named as an accused in the case registered under Sections 7, 7A, 9 and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, as amended in 2018, along with Sections 42, 409, 418 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code.
The case relates to alleged irregularities in the tendering process of the Delhi Jal Board, including contracts connected with sewage treatment plants.
Following Jain’s arrest, Aam Aadmi Party national convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal questioned Union Home Minister Amit Shah and alleged that the ACB was pressured into arresting the former minister.
In a post on X, Kejriwal said, “Amit Shah ji should explain why he got Satyendra Jain arrested by pressuring the investigation agency.”
In another post, Kejriwal claimed that an ACB official had indicated that there was no plan to arrest Jain until Wednesday morning, alleging that the decision was subsequently taken after a call from Shah.
“An Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) official revealed – There was no plan for ACB to arrest Satyendra Jain until morning. Then in the afternoon, a direct call came from Amit Shah ji saying, ‘Arrest him.’ That’s when the arrest was made,” Kejriwal alleged.
He further questioned the basis on which arrests were being made, alleging that the action was no longer dependent solely on whether an individual had committed an offence.
“Clearly, now arrests don’t happen based on whether someone has committed a crime or not, but rather on whom those two want to arrest,” Kejriwal said. (ANI)
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