Sukesh Chandrashekhar, who was arrested by Delhi Police in the Rs 200 crore extortion case, confessed to providing Rs 10 crore as “protection money” to incarcerated Aam Aadmi Party minister Satyendar Jain. Chandrashekhar stated in a letter to Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena that he has known the AAP leader since 2015.
The hand-written letter of Chandrashekhar sent to Saxena through his lawyer stated, “After my arrest in 2017, I was lodged in Tihar Jail and was visited multiple times by Mr Satyendar Jain, who held the portfolio of jail minister. In 2019 again, I was visited by Jain, whose secretary asked me to pay Rs 2 crore every month as protection money and to get basic facilities inside the jail.”
Notably, Delhi Health Minister and senior Aam Aadmi Party leader Satyendra Jain was also arrested in May this year. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested him in a money laundering case connected to the hawala transactions by Kolkata-based companies. The companies have reportedly laundered money to the tune of Rs 16.39 crores from 2010 to 2014.
Meanwhile, Chandrashekhar’s letter further revealed that a total of Rs 50 crore was paid to the AAP in exchange for a key party position in south India.
In the letter, Chandrashekhar also stated that he told a CBI investigative team last month about payments made to Satyendra Jain, the Aam Aadmi Party, and D-G Prisons. The L-G’s office, however, has not responded to the letter.
Chandrashekhar was arrested and is currently being held in Delhi’s Mandoli jail for allegedly extorting money from high-profile people, including former Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh’s wife Aditi. He was transferred from Tihar jail to Mandoli jail in Delhi in August of this year, after requesting multiple transfers. He claimed he had received death threats from inside the Tihar jail.
This month, he petitioned the Supreme Court for his release from Mandoli jail. However, the Supreme Court refused to hear his appeal.
Interestingly, on October 19, just days after the letter was posted, Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena granted permission to the Delhi Police’s economic offences wing to investigate 82 officials from the prisons department for their alleged involvement in the organised crime syndicate run by Chandrashekhar from within jail premises.
Sukesh Chandrashekhar is being investigated by the Delhi Police in connection with an alleged Rs 215 crore criminal conspiracy, embezzlement, and extortion case. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police had previously filed an FIR against Chandrasekhar for allegedly defrauding the spouses of erstwhile Ranbaxy promoters Shivinder Singh and Malvinder Singh of Rs 215 crore.
There are over 20 other cases of extortion registered against the conman who operated a racket from inside his jail cell.
Notably, Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez was also charged as an accused in the extortion case involving conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar by the Enforcement Directorate. According to the central agency, Jacqueline was aware that Sukesh was an embezzler.
