ACB files case against ex-Delhi minister Satyendar Jain over Rs 571 cr corruption

Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) registers case against ex-Delhi minister Satyendar Jain over alleged corruption of Rs 571 crore in installation of CCTV cameras, according to the Official on Wednesday.

The FIR was registered on Tuesday after obtaining prior sanction under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act from the competent authority, said Joint Commissioner of Police (ACB) Madhur Verma.

“Jain is accused of arbitrarily waiving liquidated damages worth Rs 16 crore imposed on Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) for delays in installing CCTV cameras across Delhi. The waiver was allegedly granted after receiving a Rs 7 crore bribe,” Verma said in a statement.

Multiple complaints have suggested that the project was executed in a shoddy manner, with several cameras found to be non-functional at the time of handover, he said.

The alleged corruption is related to the installation of 1.4 lakh CCTV cameras across 70 assembly constituencies in Delhi. Satyendar Jain is accused of accepting a Rs 7 crore bribe to waive a Rs 16 crore fine imposed on Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) for delays in the project.

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The issue surfaced in September 2019 when a BEL employee alleged that the company paid the bribe through its vendors to avoid the penalty. Following this, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) launched an investigation and filed a case against Jain after gathering evidence.

Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena has approved the Vigilance Directorate’s proposal to seek permission from the Union Home Ministry under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act to proceed with the investigation. Jain was previously arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in May 2022 in a money laundering case and remains in judicial custody. He resigned as a minister in February 2023.

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Responding to the matter, Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva, welcomed the FIR registered by the ACB against former Delhi Minister Jain saying that this is just the beginning, and many more cases will come to light that the Arvind Kejriwal government had either suppressed or deliberately delayed investigations into.

Sachdeva mentioned that in 2017-18, the Kejriwal government awarded a Rs 571 crore contract to a private company, “B.E.L.,” for CCTV installation.

“Due to project delays, the company was fined Rs 16 crore in 2019, but just days later, Satyendar Jain allegedly accepted Rs 7 crore in bribes to waive off the penalty”, he said.

“Apart from reports from departmental sources, former Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari had also lodged a complaint about the matter, which was subsequently taken up by the ACB”, Sachdeva said.

“Although the ACB had completed its investigation in 2023, an FIR was not being registered due to the Kejriwal government’s cover-up efforts”, Delhi BJP chief claimed.

Sachdeva expressed that now that the FIR has finally been filed, he expects more scams related to CCTV installation to be exposed.

(With inputs from agencies)