20 statements recorded before Sisodia, Jain grilling in classroom scam

In a significant development in the alleged classroom construction corruption case, the Delhi Police's Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) has recorded statements of nearly 20 individuals, including engineers, contractors, and officials from the Education Department.

According to sources, police have also questioned an architect whose bank account allegedly received funds from the contractors. Notably, no architect was officially appointed in this government project, raising serious questions about how and why the funds were transferred to the architect's account. This financial trail has now become a crucial aspect of the investigation.

Before summoning former Delhi ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain for questioning, ACB officials have conducted an extensive and technically detailed investigation. Two engineers were specially roped in to assess the financial losses incurred in classroom construction. 

 

The ACB had earlier written to the Chief Technical Examiner, seeking expert assistance to evaluate the technical aspects of the case. This move aimed to determine whether there was deliberate cost inflation or procedural irregularities during construction.

With preparations complete and multiple testimonies on record, the case now appears to be heading toward the high-profile questioning of the two former ministers.

Meanwhile, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) issued summonses to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain over an alleged Rs 2,000 crore corruption scam in the construction of classrooms in government schools.

Minister Satyendar Jain was summoned to the ACB office on June 6, and Manish Sisodia was asked to appear in court on June 9 

 

This comes after a complaint was filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Harish Khurana, BJP MLA Kapil Mishra and Neelkanth Bakshi of the BJP's Media Relations Department against the AAP ministers, who were accused of inflating costs for constructing semi-permanent classrooms, as per a statement by the Deputy Commissioner of Police Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) Shweta Singh Chauhan.

According to Chauhan, the probe into the investigation of the case revealed massive cost escalations and violations of procurement rules, with 34 contractors linked to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Speaking to ANI, Chauhan said, "We received a complaint against Manish Sisodia, former Deputy CM, and Satyendar Jain, former PWD Minister... the scam is of over Rs 2,000 crore. The classrooms were semi-permanent structures, and the cost estimate was around Rs 24,00,000 per classroom, which was more than the prevalent market rate back then."

The complaint alleged irregularities in the construction of approximately 12,748 classrooms at a reported expenditure of Rs 2,892 crore. The cost per classroom, as per the awarded tenders, stood at around Rs 24.86 lakh, even though similar structures could be built in Delhi for approximately Rs five lakh, they claimed.