New Delhi: Delhi’s Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) has filed a case against Satyendra Jain, who was the PWD minister in the Aam Aadmi Party government. Satyendra Jain is accused of allegedly waiving the liquidated damage (LD) fine of Rs 16 crore imposed on Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) while he was a minister. During the tenure of the Aam Aadmi Party government, 1.40 lakh CCTV cameras were installed in 70 assembly constituencies of Delhi, in which Rs 571 crore was spent. This fine was imposed on the company for not installing the cameras within the stipulated time limit.
According to the release issued by the ACB, media reports had said that an arrangement was made to pay a bribe of Rs 7 crore to the nodal officer of the project, former PWD minister Satyendra Jain, to waive the liquidated damage of Rs 16 crore. During the investigation, the ACB questioned a BEL official who corroborated these allegations and provided a detailed complaint in the instant case.
On August 23, 2019, various media reports stated that the then Delhi government had imposed a penalty of Rs 16 crore against BEL and its contractors for delay in installing CCTV cameras. However, according to the complaint, not only was the penalty of Rs 16 crore waived off, but BEL was also given repeated orders to install an additional 1.4 lakh cameras.
The complainant also stated that the bribe amount of Rs 7 crore was paid through the same contractors who had received an additional order of 1.4 lakh CCTV cameras. The complaint stated that the entire project of installing CCTVs was executed in a shoddy manner and many CCTV cameras were faulty even when the PWD took over the project. The bribe was paid through various vendors by artificially inflating the values of orders given to these vendors.
ACB says that documents related to PWD and BEL are being obtained and are being investigated. Based on the findings in this case, a case has been registered in the Anti-Corruption Branch under various sections against the former PWD Minister of the then Delhi Government. At the same time, an investigation has been started to find out the entire conspiracy and determine the role and charges of the alleged PWD Minister, PWD and BEL officials. Let us tell you that just before Holi, the Home Ministry had given its approval to prosecute Satyendra Jain, who was a minister in the Delhi Government, in a case related to money laundering. Now in a new case, ACB has registered against Satyendra Jain.
The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) has announced that they are currently in the process of obtaining and investigating documents related to the Public Works Department (PWD) and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL). As a result of their findings, a case has been officially registered against the former PWD Minister of the previous Delhi Government under various sections.
Simultaneously, an extensive investigation has been launched to uncover the entire conspiracy and determine the involvement and charges of the accused PWD Minister, PWD officials, and BEL officials. It is worth noting that just before the Holi festival, the Home Ministry granted approval to prosecute Satyendra Jain, a former minister in the Delhi Government, in a money laundering case.
Now, a new case has been registered by the ACB against Satyendra Jain, further intensifying the legal actions being taken against him.
