New Delhi [India], July 3: Former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) minister Satyendar Jain was questioned on Wednesday by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with alleged irregularities in contracts awarded by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB).
Jain, 60, appeared before ED investigators at the agency’s headquarters in the capital earlier in the day. The financial probe agency is examining his role in suspected financial misconduct during his tenure as Delhi’s Water Minister and Chairman of DJB.
The case revolves around alleged procedural lapses and irregular contracts awarded by DJB, which manages Delhi’s water supply and sewage systems. According to the ED, multiple contracts issued under Jain’s watch are under scrutiny for inflated costs, favouritism in tendering, and possible kickbacks. Investigators are probing whether money laundering was used to siphon off public funds.
Complaints and audit reports first flagged the irregularities, prompting a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and later the ED, which registered a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case focusing on Jain’s tenure.
This questioning adds to Jain’s ongoing legal troubles. He was previously arrested in a separate money laundering case in 2022 and later released on interim bail on health grounds in 2023.
According to the ED, former DJB Chief Engineer Jagdish Kumar Arora allegedly accepted bribes to award a Rs 38 crore flow meter contract to NKG Infrastructure Ltd, despite the company not meeting technical criteria. The agency says the contract was secured using forged documents, and much of the project cost was siphoned off through sub-contracting and kickbacks.
Of the Rs 24 crore paid by DJB, only around Rs 14 crore was spent on work, with the rest allegedly diverted. ED earlier stated that Arora received a bribe of Rs 3.19 crore, with Rs 2 crore allegedly transferred to other DJB officials and the Aam Aadmi Party as election funds.
The ED has conducted multiple searches, seized incriminating documents, arrested Arora and sub-contractor Anil Kumar Aggarwal, and provisionally attached assets worth Rs 8.8 crore.
The current questioning aims to uncover the financial trail and identify beneficiaries of the suspected scam. (ANI)
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