Satyendar Jain links Delhi Jal Board arrest to Punjab elections

Satyendar Jain, being taken to Rouse Avenue Court after his arrest, said the action against him was being taken because of the Punjab Assembly elections.

The former Delhi water minister was arrested on Tuesday by the Anti-Corruption Branch in the Delhi Jal Board sewage-treatment-plant tender case, along with five others, including former DJB chief executive Udit Prakash Rai. They were produced before the court. Jain’s arrest is part of the Delhi Jal Board sewage plant tender case involving alleged manipulation of conditions for plant-upgradation tenders.

The ACB said a Directorate of Vigilance complaint had alleged large-scale irregularities, restrictive technical specifications and criminal conspiracy in the tender process. Investigators allege that the specifications favoured Euroteck Environment Pvt Ltd, while a proposed pilot study was not conducted and some treated-effluent parameters were excluded.

The agency further alleged that Rai received Rs 1.52 crore through bank accounts held by him and relatives from AN Enterprises, and that the money was used to purchase immovable property. Jain’s lawyer said the arrest lacked legal grounds and denied that there was evidence Jain received bribe money. AAP leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal, described the arrest as politically driven.