Arvind Kejriwal's Minister Satyendar Jain was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's January prediction about the imminent arrest of his Health Minister Satyendar Jain came true on Monday.
Minister Satyendar Jain was arrested this evening by the Enforcement Directorate or ED in an alleged money laundering case.
The arrest comes nearly two months after properties worth Rs 4.81 crore owned by the Aam Aadmi Party leader and his family were attached by the Enforcement Directorate.
The probe agency, which investigates financial crimes, alleged that the minister in the Arvind Kejriwal government was involved in hawala transactions with a Kolkata-based firm in 2015-16.
"From our sources, we have got to know that right before Punjab polls, in the coming few days, the ED is going to arrest (Delhi Health and Home Minister) Satyendar Jain. They are most welcome. Previously too, the centre had conducted raids on Satyendar Jain but got nothing," Mr Kejriwal had said this in January.
The timing of the arrest may not have coincided with the Punjab polls but the substantive matter of arrest bore fruit today.
Back then, Mr Jain had also attacked the BJP-controlled central government and said he was ready to be arrested.
"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 calling him because he is the (AAP) in-charge of the Himachal Pradesh polls," Manish Sisodia, deputy chief minster Delhi, said today in a tweet in Hindi.
AAP leader Sanjay Singh alleged the Minister has been arrested now to "defame" the party ahead of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls.
"The ED summoned Satyendar Jain seven times in 2018 but could not find anything against him. The ED took no action from 2019 till now and the case appeared to be closed. Now the case has been reopened before the Himachal election. This is nothing but yet another instance of the BJP manhandling the state machinery for political gains," he said.