New Delhi: Delhi LG V K Saxena has granted sanction for a CBI probe against former minister Satyendar Jain in a complaint of extortion filed by money laundering accused Sukesh Chandrashekhar, officials said on Saturday.
Jain, a former minister with multiple portfolios in AAP government, is accused of extorting Rs 10 crore from Chandrashekhar as "protection money", they said.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleged that the BJP was so scared of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal that it was using a "conman" to defame the party and its leaders.
"Its is too much now that the LG taking cognisance of a complaint by a conman accused of taking Rs 200 crore from a businessman, has sanctioned a CBI inquiry against our former minister Satyendar Jain," AAP leader Somnath Bharti said.
A former director general of Tihar jail was also accused in the matter, the Raj Niwas officials said.
The L-G has given his nod for a CBI inquiry against Jain under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, they said.
Jain, a former home minister in the Kejriwal government, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case in May 2022 and is lodged in Tihar jail.
The Delhi L-G, apart sanctioning a CBI inquiry, also referred the matter to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)for the necessary action.
Bharti said as per the Delhi Jail Manual, government means L-G in Delhi.
"So, the L-G should answer this charge of Rs 10-crore extortion in the jail," he said.
He also hit out at the BJP and claimed that the party was "badly losing" the Lok Sabha polls and was using a "conman" due to fear of Kejriwal.
Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor welcomed the CBI inquiry ordered by LG Saxena saying it will "expose" AAP's "nefarious" face.
On February 9, the LG had also sanctioned a CBI inquiry against Raj Kumar, the then Superintendent of Tihar Jail, for alleged extortion of money on behalf of the minister and the DG of the jail, Raj Niwas officials said.
"It was alleged by Chandrashekhar that the minister had received Rs 10 crore from him in various trenches during 2018-21, either personally or through his accomplices, as protection money, so as to enable him to live peacefully and comfortably in different jails of Delhi," they claimed.
The matter is being investigated by the CBI and the request for prosecution sanction had come through the Delhi government's Directorate of Vigilance (DoV) to the LG, who is the competent authority in the matter, they said. Apart from Jain, Chandrashekar had also accused three top jail officials of "extorting" Rs 12.50 crore in various tranches during 2019-22 from him, officials said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)