Delhi ACB files case against AAP leader Satyendar Jain in corruption case

According to Madhur Verma, Joint Commissioner of Police (ACB), Delhi Police, Satyendar Jain is accused of unfairly waiving penalties worth Rs 16 crore imposed on Bharat Electronics Limited

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The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of the Delhi government has filed a case against former Public Works Department (PWD) minister and senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Satyendar Jain. The case is related to alleged corruption in a Rs 571-crore CCTV project, an official said on Wednesday, reported PTI.

 

Joint Commissioner of Police (Anti-Corruption Branch) Madhur Verma said Jain is accused of unfairly waiving penalties worth Rs 16 crore imposed on Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL). The penalties were for delays in installing CCTV cameras across the city.

 

“The waiver was allegedly granted after receiving a Rs 7 crore bribe,” Verma said in a statement. The FIR was registered on Tuesday after receiving the required approval under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Verma said.

 

Allegations of classroom scam

 

The case is not the first corruption allegation against the Delhi government. The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), in a report dated February 17, 2020, pointed out ‘glaring irregularities’ in the construction of classrooms in Delhi government schools by the PWD.

 

In July 2019, BJP leader Harish Khurana and former Aam Aadmi Party MLA Kapil Mishra, who is now a BJP minister in the Delhi government, filed a complaint about the alleged scam.

 

According to a report by the Delhi ACB, the complainants mentioned that the scam was worth over Rs 2,000 crore. They alleged that the cost of classroom construction was highly inflated.

 

The alleged scam involves the construction of around 12,748 classrooms. The report said the total expenditure for building the classrooms was around Rs 2,892.65 crore. It also stated that the construction cost was Rs 8,800 per square foot, whereas the average cost for a builder is around Rs 1,500 per square foot.

 

The report further claimed that the actual cost of constructing each classroom was around Rs 5 lakh per room. However, the tender awarded for the project allegedly quoted Rs 24.86 lakh per room. According to the report, the construction costs were raised almost five times due to misuse of public funds.

 

[With inputs from PTI]