Satyendar Jain is also co-in-charge of AAP's Punjab affairs.
New Delhi. Former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain on Wednesday said his arrest by the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) is related to the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections and termed it politics.
Jain and six people, including former Delhi Jal Board (DJB) chief executive officer Udit Prakash Rai, have been arrested by the ACB in connection with alleged corruption in the tender process for DJB's sewer treatment plant projects, an official said on Tuesday.
Jain is also co-in-charge of AAP's Punjab affairs. While being taken to Rouse Avenue court, he said, all this is being done because Punjab elections are about to come…this is politics. According to the ACB statement, the other accused arrested include former contract consultants of DJB Ankit Srivastava and Nagendra Yadav, Raja Kumar Kurra and Pankaj Verma.
This case was registered on May 11, 2024 on the complaint of Vigilance Directorate. The complaint alleges massive irregularities in the tender process, manipulation of tender conditions and criminal conspiracy related to the expansion and upgradation of sewer treatment plants of DJB.
According to the ACB, the investigation revealed that such technical specifications and conditions were allegedly laid down in the tender process, which favored a particular technology provider company 'Eurotech Environment Pvt. Ltd.' This limited competition and gave unfair advantage to the private company. The investigating agency alleged that the proposed experimental study was not conducted, while restrictive conditions related to the technology and media to be used were included in the tender.
The ACB also alleged that essential standards related to treated waste water were kept out of the tender and technical specifications were changed, causing significant financial impact on the government exchequer. Satyendar Jain was also arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in May 2022 in a money laundering case.