Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena has sanctioned a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe against former Delhi Minister and AAP leader Satyendar Jain on an extortion complaint filed by alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar, officials said on Saturday.
Mr. Jain has been accused of running an extortion racket within the Tihar jail premises, which sought ‘protection’ money from Mr. Chandrasekhar.
Mr. Chandrasekhar has alleged that the former Delhi Health Minister had extorted ₹10 crore from him across a number of settlements between 2018 and 2021, either personally or through his accomplices, including Raj Kumar, a former Jail Superintendent, against whom the L-G had also ordered a probe last month.
Lashing out at the Centre, senior AAP leader Somnath Bharti on Saturday termed the L-G’s decision to approve the CBI inquiry against Mr. Jain “a political vendetta”.
Mr. Bharti said that a “desperate” BJP had resorted to taking help from a “thug like Chandrashekhar”.
Mr. Chandrasekhar, a former businessman, is being investigated in multiple cases, which include extortion and money laundering. He has been booked for duping several people to the tune of ₹200 crore.
