ED arrests Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain in money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday arrested Delhi minister Satyendar Jain in connection with an eight-year-old money laundering case, prompting a war of words between the BJP and the AAP.

Jain, who holds multiple portfolios including health, was taken into custody under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), officials from ED said.

The agency had last month claimed to have attached assets worth Rs 4.81 crore of Jain's family and companies. Jain was also questioned in the case in 2018.

The arrest immediately took a political colour, with Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said that Jain was arrested as he is the AAP's in charge for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections.

"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 on Twitter.

AAP MP Sanjay Singh on Monday referred to the "clean chit" by CBI in the case, which he said was related to the same case.

"Jain was questioned seven times by ED in the past but arrested now just before polls," Singh said. "They did not remember to arrest him in the last eight years. Such an investigation agency should be closed down. This is persecution of Jain. This is yet another case of misuse of investigating agencies."

BJP leader Tajinder Pal Bagga termed Jain a "scamster". "Scamster and @ArvindKejriwal Minister Satyendra Jain arrested by ED," he tweeted.

On Jan 23, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal had hinted that Jain's would be arrested. "Modi government is planning to arrest our Minister Satyendar Jain right before Punjab elections," Kejriwal had said.

However, the arrest did not take place.