ACB arrests Satyendar Jain, 5 others in Jal Board scam: What is the case

The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of the Delhi government has arrested AAP leader and former Delhi minister Satyendar Kumar Jain and five others in connection with alleged irregularities in the tendering process of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), news agency ANI reported on Tuesday.

The case relates to alleged manipulation of tender conditions and a criminal conspiracy in contracts for the augmentation and upgradation of Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs).

Who Has Been Arrested?

The six accused arrested by the ACB are:

Satyendar Kumar Jain, former Minister of Water, Government of NCT of Delhi.
Udit Prakash Rai, IAS officer and former CEO of the Delhi Jal Board.
Ankit Srivastava, former contractual consultant with the Delhi Jal Board.
Nagendra Yadav, proprietor of AN Enterprises.
Raja Kumar Kurra, owner of Euroteck Environment Pvt. Ltd.
Pankaj Verma, proprietor of Srijanhar.

What Is The Case?

The case was registered following a complaint by the Directorate of Vigilance, Government of NCT of Delhi. The FIR was registered on May 11, 2024, at the Anti-Corruption Branch police station.

The case has been registered under Sections 7, 7A, 9 and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, as amended in 2018. It also includes Sections 420, 409, 418 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code.

The allegations relate to large-scale irregularities in the tendering process for the augmentation and upgradation of sewage treatment plants operated by the Delhi Jal Board.

The ACB has also alleged manipulation of tender conditions and criminal conspiracy in the process.

Jain was earlier arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in May 2022 in a money laundering case. The case linked to alleged transactions involving four companies associated with him. The former minister spent nearly 18 months in custody before a Delhi court granted him bail in October 2023.