Delhi LG Approves Prosecution of Ex-Minister Satyendar Jain on Bribery Charges
The former Delhi minister is accused of receiving a ₹7 crore bribe for waiving a ₹16 crore penalty imposed on BEL for delay in installing 140,000 CCTV cameras
Lieutenant governor (LG) VK Saxena has approved the investigation of former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain, under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, for allegedly receiving a bribe for waiving off penalty against a contractor that was executing the project for installation of CCTVs in 70 Assembly constituencies in Delhi, officials from the LG office said on Saturday.
Saxena approved the proposal of the Directorate of Vigilance (DoV) to refer the matter under section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption (PoC) Act, 1998, to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, for approving investigation against the former Delhi minister by the Anti Corruption Branch (ACB) of the Delhi government, officials added.
“Jain, who was minister of the Public Works Department (PWD) and nodal authority of the project, is accused of receiving a bribe of ₹7 crore for waiving off the penalty of ₹16 crore imposed on Bharat Electronic Limited (BEL) for delay in installing 140,000 CCTV cameras in Delhi at the cost of ₹571 crore. The case of corruption against Jain emerged after a complaint by an employee of BEL in September 2019, who alleged that BEL, through its vendors, arranged for a bribe of ₹7 crore for Jain. According to records, apart from the complaint, ACB also obtained information from secret sources that corroborated the complainant’s case,” an official aware of the matter said.
Further, according to the file, the fact that repeat orders were placed to the vendors to enhance value to arrange for the bribe money to the minister (PWD) indicates the commission of an offence under PoCA, officials added.
“ACB recorded the complainant’s statement, who faced the departmental enquiry (DE) in connection with the case. The complainant also provided a copy of the minutes of proceedings of the DE against him, in which he had mentioned the incident of demand and payment of bribe amount of ₹7 crore to Jain,” said the official.
Explaining details of the investigation process, officials from the LG office said that the DoV submitted that a prima facie case under PoCA is made out against Jain based on the complainant’s statements and other evidence collected. In February last year, it also asked PWD for comments and supporting documents, but it could not provide a satisfactory reply against the allegations saying that it was the “internal matter of BEL”. Additionally, BEL, in an RTI query had also refused to give information on the matter saying that it is commercially confidential and interrogatory in nature, officials said.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) officials said that the BJP is engaging in sinister conspiracies against the Delhi government only to ensure that work is stopped.
“With over 200 cases filed against AAP ministers and MLAs, and the BJP having already incarcerated our top leadership, including Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, in just 10 years, this case is yet another step towards suppressing the AAP. They illegally constituted the ‘Shunglu Committee’ and kept 400 files of the AAP government under the pretext of an investigation. They’ve been investigating the so-called liquor scam for two years, opening various cases with new fabricated stories, yet not a single rupee of corruption has been recovered to date,” said an AAP leader.
“Ever since the AAP government came to power, the BJP and its central government have tried everything possible to undermine and paralyse it. There are hundreds of cases against us. Like the previous cases, the BJP and its central government are trying to paralyse the Delhi government because the AAP is a staunchly honest party,” said cabinet minister Atishi.
