Jailed AAP Leader Satyendar Jain Under CBI Scanner, MHA Sanctions Inquiry

The Union home ministry has approved a CBI inquiry into allegations against Satyendar Jain, a jailed AAP leader, for allegedly extorting Rs 10 crore from conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar as "protection money," as reported by news agency ANI citing sources. Jain and former Tihar Jail DG Sandeep Goel were accused of operating an extortion racket from Tihar and demanding protection money from high-profile inmates.

The development comes as Delhi Chief Minister and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal is in ED custody in connection with the alleged liquor policy scam.

Earlier this year, Delhi LG VK Saxena sanctioned the CBI inquiry into extortion charges against Satyendar Jain. In a letter seeking the LG's approval to probe the extortion charges, the CBI wrote that Jain was accused of running a high-profile extortion racket from Tihar Jail and demanding ₹10 crore as "protection money" from Chandrashekhar to allow him to "live peacefully and comfortably in jail".

The allegations were made by the conman who claimed that Jain extorted money in various installments during 2018-21, either personally or through his accomplices, to enable him (Sukesh) to live comfortably in different jails of Delhi, including Tihar, Rohini, and Mandoli.

Satyendar Jain was arrested in May 2022 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. His last bail plea was dismissed by the Supreme Court in March this year, and the top court instructed him to surrender in connection with the money laundering case. He was granted interim medical bail on May 26, 2023, after he fell in the jail bathroom. During the bail period, he underwent a spinal operation.