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Enforcement Directorate questions AAP leader Satyendar Jain in connection with Delhi Jal Board case

Enforcement Directorate questions AAP leader Satyendar Jain in connection with Delhi Jal Board case

Enforcement Directorate questions AAP leader Satyendar Jain in connection with Delhi Jal Board case

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) questioned former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Minister Satyendar Jain in connection with a case involving alleged irregularities at the Delhi Jal Board (DJB).

Jain, aged 60, appeared before ED investigators at their headquarters this morning. The agency is examining his role in suspected financial misconduct during his tenure as a minister.

The case concerns alleged procedural violations and irregular awarding of contracts by DJB, which manages water supply and sewage services in Delhi. Jain, who previously held the water portfolio and served as DJB Chairman, is under scrutiny for his involvement in these deals, which also include allegations of money laundering.

According to ED and other investigative agencies, several contracts issued during Jain’s tenure as Water Minister are under investigation. The allegations include inflated project costs, favoritism in tender awards, and possible kickbacks. The ED is investigating whether money laundering was used to divert public funds through these contracts.

The irregularities came to light after complaints and audit reports flagged financial management lapses and project execution issues in DJB. Based on these findings, ED registered a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case, focusing on Jain’s role during that period.

This case further complicates Jain’s legal issues, as he was previously arrested in a money laundering case in 2022 and was granted interim bail in 2023 on health grounds.

The current ED questioning aims to trace the financial flow and identify the key beneficiaries of the alleged corruption.

Earlier Developments
On March 28 last year, ED filed a prosecution complaint against several individuals—including Jagdish Kumar Arora, the then Chief Engineer of DJB; Tejinder Pal Singh, Arora’s close associate; Anil Kumar Agarwal, proprietor of Integral Screw Industries; DK Mittal, a former NBCC employee; and NKG Infrastructure Limited, a contractor for DJB—under PMLA provisions.

The investigation was initiated based on a complaint from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). It alleged Arora took a bribe to award a flow meter contract worth Rs 38 crore to NKG Infrastructure Ltd, despite the company not meeting technical criteria. The ED revealed that the contractor submitted forged documents to secure the bid.

NKG Infrastructure then subcontracted work to Integral Screws Ltd, owned by Agarwal, as NKG lacked the capacity to carry out the work. The DJB paid Rs 24 crore on this project, but only Rs 14 crore was used for actual work; the rest was allegedly siphoned off in bribes.

The ED stated that Arora received Rs 3.19 crore in bribes, part of which—Rs 2 crore—was transferred to other DJB officials and used as election funds by the AAP.

Search operations were conducted by ED on July 24, 2023, and November 17, 2023, leading to the seizure of documents and evidence. Arora and Agarwal were arrested on January 31, 2024, and various properties worth Rs 8.8 crore linked to them were temporarily attached by ED.

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