Why was Delhi minister Stayendar Jain arrested?

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case on Monday, May 30.

ED has said that in 2015-2016, when Jain was a public servant, companies owned and controlled by him received up to Rs 4.81 crore from shell companies through a hawala network.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader was taken into custody under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after a few hours of questioning.

The AAP and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were involved in a war of words over the arrest of the Delhi Health Minister.

We take a look at why Jain was arrested and the controversy surrounding the issue.

WHAT IS THE CASE?

The ED has said that Jain was involved in hawala transactions with a Kolkata-based firm in 2015-16. A money laundering case was registered by the probe agency based on an FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in August 2017 on charges of alleged possession of disproportionate assets.

The agency also alleged that the minister and his family had set up four shell companies to launder Rs 11.78 crore in 2011-12 and Rs 4.63 crore in 2015-16. The income tax department had also probed these transactions and issued an order attaching 'benami assets' allegedly linked to Jain.

The shell companies are Akinchan Developers Pvt Ltd, Indo Metal impex Pvt Ltd, Paryas Infosolutions Pvt Ltd, Manglayatan Projects Pvt Ltd, JJ Ideal Estate Pvt Ltd, reported India Today. Jain was called for questioning but he allegedly failed to explain the source of money. Following that, the ED decided to arrest him.

AAP CRIES FOUL

Following the arrest of Jain, AAP leaders have alleged vendetta politics by the BJP ahead of elections in Himachal Pradesh.

Taking to Twitter, AAP leader and Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia claimed that Jain has been arrested as he is the AAP's in-charge for the Himachal Pradesh assembly elections and the BJP is afraid of losing the polls.

'A fake case has been going on against Satyendar Jain for eight years. He has been called by the ED several times so far. The ED had stopped calling him for some time because it did not find anything against him. Now it has again started because he is the in-charge of Himachal Pradesh elections,' Sisodia said in a tweet in Hindi.

सत्येंद्र जैन के ख़िलाफ़ 8 साल से एक फ़र्ज़ी केस चलाया जा रहा है. अभी तक कई बार ED बुला चुकी है। बीच में कई साल ED ने बुलाना भी बंद कर दिया था क्योंकि उन्हें कुछ मिला ही नहीं। अब फिर शुरू कर दिया क्योंकि सत्येंद्र जैन हिमाचल के इलेक्शन इंचार्ज हैं।1/2

— Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) May 30, 2022

Sanjay Singh, the national spokesperson for the AAP, has said that the Centre has once again misused investigative agencies and Satyendra Jain will come out free because it is a false case.

'No matter how many steps BJP takes, AAP will fight and win the elections in Himachal Pradesh,' Singh said.

BJP AND CONGRESS TARGET AAP

Delhi BJP Chief Adesh Gupta said his party had raised the issue of 'corruption' by AAP and its leaders in the past.

'Kejriwal always kept mum on corruption charges against his party leaders. The arrest of Jain by the ED has come days after an AAP minister was arrested and sacked in Punjab. People want Kejriwal to speak about it,' he said.

#AAP का हाथ, भ्रष्टाचारियों के साथ!

भ्रष्टाचार के मामले में CM @ArvindKejriwal के करीबी @SatyendarJain को ED ने किया गिरफ्तार!

ईमानदारी का राग अलापने वाले केजरीवाल बताएं कि इन्हें कब बर्खास्त करेंगे, कितनी देर में करेंगे और अभी तक चुप क्यों हैं?

दिल्ली की जनता जवाब चाहती है। pic.twitter.com/uzavzZJSoy

— Adesh Gupta (@adeshguptabjp) May 30, 2022

'Punjab's Health Minister is in jail, Delhi's Health Minister is also arrested. These people had come to change politics,' said Congress's Srinivas BV.

कट्टर ईमानदार पार्टी का मौजूदा स्वास्थ्य:-

◆ पंजाब के स्वास्थ्य मंत्री भी जेल में
◆ दिल्ली के स्वास्थ्य मंत्री भी गिरफ्तार

ये लोग राजनीति बदलने आये थे..जय हो ✊

— Srinivas BV (@srinivasiyc) May 30, 2022

WHAT'S NEXT?

The ED will have to now produce Jain before the special court within 24 hours. When he is produced before the court, the probe agency will have to show reasons for his arrest and whether custodial interrogation is required. Jain’s legal team can oppose any custodial interrogation and can also move a bail plea when he is produced before the court.

Lawyers say that the ED will have to justify his arrest, as he was arrested when he went to the ED office for questioning.

According to senior advocate Ramesh Gupta, the ED will have to show a 'checklist' of procedure followed to show that the arrest was necessary, reported India Today.