Delhi Prisons chief Sandeep Goel transferred after conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar's allegations

Days after conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar's allegations, Delhi Prisons chief Sandeep Goel was transferred and asked to report to Delhi Police Headquarters.

Sanjay Beniwal, a 1989-batch IPS officer who is presently Special Commissioner (Perception Management and Media Cell), has been appointed as the new Director General of Prisons in place of Goel, who is also a 1989-batch officer. The order was issued with the clearance of Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena.

Goel's transfer came after Sukesh made sensational claims that he paid Rs 12.5 crore to Goel as "protection money" for his safety in Mandoli Jail where he is lodged in connection with a Rs 200 crore money laundering case.

He also claimed in his letter to the LG that he paid over Rs 50 crore to AAP for an “important” post in the party and another Rs 10 crore to jailed minister Satyender Jain as “protection money”.

The claims were made by Sukesh in a letter dated October 7. Sukesh’s allegation also comes soon after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) claimed in a court that Jain had met a witness in Tihar Jail and tried to tamper with evidence.

In 2019, Sukesh alleged, Jain along with his Secretary and close friend Sushil met him in jail and asked him to pay Rs 2 crore every month as “protection money” to “live safely” in the jail and to get basic facilities besides asking to pay Rs 1.5 crore to Goel, who he said was a “loyal associate” of the minister. Jain forced him to pay Rs 10 crore within 2-3 months, he alleged.

He claimed the whole money was collected through his associate “Chaturvedi” in Kolkata. “Hence a total amount of Rs 10 crore was paid to Satyendar Jain and Rs 12.50 crore to DG Prison Sandeep Goel,” he claimed in the letter.

Sukesh also claimed he had disclosed about Goel running a racket in a petition in Delhi High Court, besides telling the CBI about the money paid to both Jain and Goel.