New Delhi: Arrested ‘conman’ Sukesh Chandrashekhar claimed that he has paid Rs 10 crore to Delhi minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Satyendar Jain as “protection money” to live safely inside Delhi’s Mandoli jail, where he is currently lodged, as well as to get access to basic facilities.
Chandrashekhar, who is in prison in connection with a Rs 200-crore extortion case, further alleged that he had also paid Rs 12.50 crore to DG Prison Sandeep Goel for the same during 2019.
These allegations were mentioned in a letter Chandrashekhar — who had allegedly extorted the amount from the wife of former Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Singh — wrote to Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, while seeking a thorough probe into the matter by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
A copy of the letter is with ThePrint.
Jain, who holds important Delhi government portfolios, including home and health ministries, is currently lodged in Tihar jail in a money laundering case, being probed by the Enforcement Directorate.
In the letter, Chandrashekhar alleged that he was visited by Jain, along with his secretary and a close friend, Mr Sushil, inside the prison in 2019. He said the minister asked him to pay Rs 2 crore every month as “protection money to live safely in jail”.
“Also, he asked me to pay Rs 1.50 crore to DG Prison Sandeep Goel, who he said was a loyal associate of his. He forced me to pay a total amount of Rs 10 crore to him and Rs 12.50 cr to DG Prison Sandeep Goel,” the letter mentioned.
‘Attempt to deflect attention from Morbi tragedy’
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal saw a political conspiracy behind the allegations. He said that Kumar Vishwas was targeted before the Punjab election and now, with the Gujarat elections round the corner, the BJP has “assistance from Sukesh Chandrashekhar” as “they are on such weak footing”.
“PM Modi says he is very popular, then why does he have to take assistance from a conman to win Gujarat elections. It is a completely fictitious report,” Kejriwal said.
Reacting to the charges, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said that this was an attempt to “deflect attention from the Morbi tragedy in Gujarat”.
ThePrint tried to contact DG Prison Sandeep Goel via email and message but he did not respond.
‘Promised important post by AAP’
In the letter, Chandrashekhar wrote that he knew Jain since 2015 and had contributed more than Rs 50 crore to the party. He claimed that AAP had also promised to give him an “important post in the party in the South Zone” and would also “help him to be nominated to Rajya Sabha following the expansion”.
Moreover, he accused Jain of visiting him at Tihar Jail earlier in 2017, when he held the “portfolio of Jail minister” Chandrashekhar said the jailed AAP leader also asked him if he had disclosed anything about his contribution to AAP to the investigating agency,
He also claimed to have disclosed about the DG prison and a “racket” allegedly run by him and the jail administration during a recent questioning by an investigation agency and also filing a writ petition in the Delhi High Court seeking CBI enquiry – a hearing which is scheduled next month.
“Last month during an investigation by the CBI, I disclosed all details of amounts paid to Jain and AAP and DG prison but no action was initiated,” he said in the letter.
Threats & harassment
Chandrashekhar also alleged that he was being “threatened and harrassed” by Jain through prison officers to withdraw his complaint.
“Now, Jain is lodged in Jail 7 in Tihar, he has been threatening me through DG prison and the jail administration asking me to withdraw a complaint filed in the High Court. I have been severely harassed and threatened,” he said.
Also read: ED accuses actress Jacqueline Fernandez of laundering money in Sukesh Chandrasekhar fraud case