This Article is From Dec 25, 2022

No Visits For 15 Days For Jailed AAP Minister After CCTV Row: Sources

A series of video leaks in the days leading up to the high-stakes municipal elections in Delhi had showed Satyendar Jain receiving massages and meeting people in his prison cell.

Satyendar Jain has been in jail for over six months.

New Delhi:

Delhi minister Satyendar Jain, who has been in jail since June awaiting trial in a money laundering case, will not be allowed visitors for 15 days and have "facilities" such as a table and chair in his cell removed, sources said on Sunday.

The move was triggered by the recommendations of a committee formed by Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, a representative of the BJP-led government at the centre, following leaks of CCTV videos that showed Mr Jain receiving massages and getting visitors inside his jail cell, sources added.

The committee has also said that it found "collusion" on the part of the then head of the prison, Sandeep Goel with Satyendar Jain, and recommended departmental proceedings against Mr Goel for extending "VIP treatment" to the minister.

The Aam Aadmi Party leader had been targeted in a series of video leaks in the days leading up to the high-stakes municipal elections in Delhi as well the state polls in Gujarat, at the height of his party's campaign against the BJP.

His party explained the massages as physiotherapy and home-cooked meals, saying they had been cleared by doctors and courts. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the video leaks were aimed only to hurt his party in the elections.

The 15-day punishment for Mr Jain comes weeks after the AAP defeated the BJP in the municipal polls, but fell far short of its predictions in Gujarat.

The minister, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate - which investigates financial crimes and also reports to the BJP-led government at the centre - is accused of having laundered money through four companies allegedly linked to him.

.