AAP’s Satyendar Jain granted bail in STP case

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Thursday granted bail to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former minister Satyendar Jain in a case pertaining to alleged corruption and tender manipulation in the Delhi Jal Board (DJB).

Special Judge (PC Act) Dig Vinay Singh of the Rouse Avenue Courts passed the order on Jain’s bail application.

“Your bail application is allowed,” the judge told Jain.

The court granted bail to Jain on a personal bond of Rs 2 lakh.

The AAP leader was arrested by the Delhi government’s Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) on August 18 along with former DJB CEO Udit Prakash Rai, an IAS officer, and four others in connection with the alleged corruption and tender-manipulation case involving augmentation and upgradation of sewage treatment plants (STPs) in the national capital.

On August 19, the court had refused to declare Jain’s arrest illegal while sending him to judicial custody. However, it had fixed his bail plea for hearing on August 25.

The other accused arrested in the case are Ankit Srivastava, a former contractual consultant with the DJB; Nagendra Yadav, proprietor of M/s AN Enterprises; Raja Kumar Kurra, owner of M/s Euroteck Environment Private Limited; and Pankaj Verma, proprietor of M/s Srijanhar.

The arrests were made in connection with an FIR registered on May 11, 2024, at the ACB police station on a complaint from Delhi’s Directorate of Vigilance.

The FIR invokes Sections 7, 7A, 9 and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, as amended in 2018, along with Sections 420, 409, 418 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code.

According to the ACB, the case concerns alleged large-scale irregularities, manipulation of tender conditions and criminal conspiracy in the tendering process for DJB’s STP projects.

During the investigation, the ACB allegedly found that the tendering process contained restrictive technical specifications and conditions favouring a particular technology provider, M/s Euroteck Environment Private Limited.

The anti-corruption agency has claimed that the restrictive conditions limited competition and provided undue advantage to the selected private entity.

The ACB also found that the proposed pilot study for the STP upgradation work was not conducted and that restrictive conditions relating to the technology and media to be used were incorporated into the tender, while essential parameters concerning treated effluent were excluded.

According to investigators, technical specifications were subsequently changed, allegedly resulting in significant financial implications for the government exchequer.

The ACB has further alleged that private individuals were in regular communication with certain public servants and intermediaries in connection with the tendering process. Analysis of electronic evidence allegedly revealed the exchange of restrictive tender conditions, corrigendums and other documents related to the project, which were subsequently incorporated into the STP tender issued by the DJB.

The ACB has also alleged a flow of commission or bribe money through intermediary entities, including M/s Srijanhar and M/s AN Enterprises. According to the probe agency, substantial amounts were transferred to the proprietorship concern of accused Nagendra Yadav from entities connected with M/s Euroteck.

The investigation allegedly traced subsequent transactions involving transfers of funds to government officials, including then DJB CEO Rai, as well as his relatives. The ACB has alleged that Rai received bribes totalling around Rs 1.52 crore in his own and his relatives’ bank accounts through banking channels from M/s AN Enterprises, with the agency claiming that the funds originated from M/s Euroteck.

IANS