The AAP suffered another setback on Friday as the ministry of home affairs (MHA) granted permission for a CBI inquiry against jailed party leader and former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain, under the Prevention of Corruption (POC) Act.
According to news agency ANI, the CBI will be looking into the alleged extortion of Rs. 10 crore from notorious conman Sukash Chandrashekhar, who was lodged in Tihar Jail.
There were allegations that Jain and former Tihar Jail DG Sandeep Goel were running an extortion racket from Tihar. They allegedly demanded protection money from high-profile inmates.
Earlier this year, Delhi Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena granted sanction for a CBI probe against Jain in a complaint of extortion filed by Chandrashekhar. The LG had then referred the matter to MHA for necessary action.
Jain, former home minister in the Kejriwal government, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case in May 2022 and is lodged in Tihar Jail.
The move by MHA comes even as Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal continues to be in ED custody. Kejriwal was arrested last week by the ED in a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped excise policy in which former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh and another party leader Vijay Nayar are behind bars.