New Delhi: The man seen giving a massage to jailed Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain in his Tihar cell is neither a masseur nor a physiotherapist – as claimed by his party AAP – but a labourer accused of raping his minor daughter.
The undertrial Rinku Tarachand, 38, who is a worker from Southwest Delhi’s Jaffarpur Kalan, was trying to impress Jain so that he could have a comfortable stay in Tihar, a prison source told ThePrint. Tarachand came to the Delhi prison in August 2021.
Another source said: “Tarachand frequented Jain’s cell for the ‘job’. This is not the first time he has massaged Jain, but multiple times in the last five or six months.”
Jain was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on 31 May for alleged money-laundering.
According to sources in the prison administration, Tarachand was doing “sewa (voluntary service)” for Jain. Although there are several jobs for which inmates can volunteer, massaging someone inside his cell is certainly not one of them, Tihar officials said.
“There is a dedicated medical room for physiotherapy if someone needs it. The massage or treatment cannot be administered in a cell. Moreover, the voluntary work is for different things inside the jail, like cooking and cleaning… but not for any specific inmate,” the source said.
When the video surfaced last week — showing Tarachand giving the former minister a rub-down — Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia scurried to his colleague’s defence. He said Jain was getting a physiotherapy session because of his two spinal injuries.
He also said the BJP-led furore over the video was an attempt to make a mockery of Jain’s “illness” — a disc injury after he fell inside the jail.
Director General (Prisons) Sanjay Beniwal told ThePrint, “All facts have been brought to our notice and an inquiry initiated. A detailed report has been submitted to the Principal Secretary (Home).”
‘Gave massages, cleaned his cell to impress Jain’
According to a prison source, Tarachand was hoping to “impress Jain” for a “comfortable” stay in prison. He not only frequented Jain’s cell to give him massages but also “cleaned his cell” on several occasions, the source said.
Rinku thought a minister who held several portfolios, including Home, could make life easy for him in prison, the Tihar source said.
“He would occasionally give Jain a massage, and also cleaned his cell among other odd jobs. He is charged under POCSO (Protection of Child against Sexual Offences),” the source added.
The purported video from 13 September surfaced days after the Enforcement Directorate accused Jain, arrested in a money-laundering case, of getting special treatment inside the Tihar Jail. The “VIP treatment” allegation led to the transfer of at least 12 Tihar officials besides the Director General (Prisons), Sandeep Goel.
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