The Ministry of Home Affairs has accorded sanction for a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry against jailed Aam Aadmi Party minister, Satyendar Jain, under the Prevention of Corruption (POC) Act, for allegedly extorting Rs 10 crore from notorious conman Sukash Chandrashekhar, who was then lodged in Tihar Jail, sources said.
In February this year, Delhi LG VK Saxena sent the proposal of the CBI to the Home Ministry for approval to prosecute and investigate Jain under Section 17A of the PoC Act.
On March 22, the Home Ministry accorded the sanction for the CBI inquiry against Jain and subsequently, LG Saxena forwarded the same to the Delhi Chief Secretary for further appropriate action.
Jain, who was then the jail minister in the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government, currently in jail over money laundering charges, is also accused of running a high profile extortion racket from Tihar Jail and demanding Rs 10 crore as “protection money” from Chandrashekhar, so as to enable him to “live peacefully and comfortably in jail.”
On Chandrashekhar’s complaint, the CBI had begun inquiring into the matter and accordingly, the agency sought the approval of the competent authority for prosecuting Jain under the PoC Act.
The case pertains to the charges made by Sukash Chandrashekhar that Jain had extorted and received Rs 10 crore from him in various tranches during 2018-21, either personally or through his accomplices, as protection money, so as to enable him ‘to live peacefully and comfortably in different jails of Delhi (Tihar, Rohini and Mandoli)’.
Jain was Minister (Jail) during the said period in the AAP Government. The CBI is also inquiring against Raj Kumar, the then Superintendent of Tihar Jail, for extorting money at the behest of Jain and Sandeep Goel, the former DG of Tihar Jail.
Apart from Satyendra Jain and Raj Kumar, Sukash had also accused Sandeep Goel and one Mukesh Prasad of extorting Rs 12.50 crore in various tranches during 2019-22 from him.
Jain, Goel, Prasad and Kumar are accused of misusing their official positions as public servants in extending undue favour to Sukash Chandrashekhar and other high-profile inmates in Delhi Jails in lieu of valuable considerations.
Jain, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case, was also lodged in Tihar Jail, where he allegedly influenced the jail officials into providing him with body massages and other VIP treatment, the sources said.
(With inputs from ANI)
