A week after Satyendar Jain was seen receiving a massage from a rape-accused inmate in Tihar Jail, an Inquiry report has revealed that AAP Minister had misused his power and violated the prison rules.
As per reports, an Inquiry Committee was led by the Principal Secretaries of the Home and Law Ministries and the Secretary of the Directorate of Vigilance to probe the violation of the rules of Tihar jail. It found that the AAP Minister ‘misused his official position and authority in cahoots with the prison authorities.
According to the Committee, five inmates namely Dilip Kumar, Sonu Singh, Manish, Rinku and Afsar Ali were coerced by the Jail munshi, the warden and the superintendent to provide ‘special services’ to Satyendar Jain.
Exclusive Tihar Report On Delhi Minister
— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) December 1, 2022
Satyendar Jain given special services inside Tihar with collusion of prison officials, says inquiry panel.
Here’s a detailed report#ITVideo #IndiaFirst @gauravcsawant pic.twitter.com/lGJLjgt0kS
Both Rinku and Manish are being tried under the Prevention of Child Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act while Afsar and Singh are being jailed for not paying maintenance to their respective wives.
“…Underlines that a retinue of Jail officials including Wardens, Munshis and other staff were involved in the service of Satyendar Jain,” the Inquiry report said.
The Committee slammed former DG (Prison) Sandeep Goel for colluding with the AAP Minister and directed disciplinary proceedings against Goel. It further pointed out that the VIP treatment meted out to Satyendar Jain by the inmates was out of fear and not ‘love and affection.’
“Sandeep Goel met Satyendar Jain in his cell for about 50 minutes on October 6, 2022, from 18.39 hrs to 19.29 hrs. This reflects that Sandeep Goel was quite close to Satyendar Jain and indicates the collusion of top brass, i.e. the then DG (Prisons) Sandeep Goel,” it further emphasised.
Inmates gave special services to Satyendar Jain out of fear: Report
The report stated, “The inmates did not offer any service to Jain voluntarily or out of “love and affection” as cited by the suspended Jail Superintendent Ajit Kumar. Instead, the inmates feared that if they refused to obey, they would be given “Punishment Ticket” or tortured in the jail.”
It also rubbished claims of ‘voluntary’ physiotherapy treatment by POSCO accused Rinku, as asserted by AAP Minister Manish Sisodia.
“This massage was not voluntary or out of love and affection, as claimed by the then Superintendent Jail but was in the nature of leisure for enjoying a lavish lifestyle in jail by Satyendra Jain. This can also be termed to be an abuse of authority and in violation of norms of the jail,” the report said.
“I have provided the massage to him (Jain) at the instructions of jail officials. Now I am being threatened. I have not even taken a drop of water from the cell of Satyendra Jain for giving the massage,” Rinku told the committee.
He also revealed that he had no formal training in physiotherapy or masseur work and provide mares to families during marriage ceremonies.
Satyendar Jain held meetings during curfew hours, misused jail account cards of inmates
The Inquiry Committee also found that Satyendar Jain held meetings with co-accused Vaibhav Jain and Ankush Jain, besides others who are tried in cases filed by the Enforcement Directorate. Reportedly, the meetings were held even during curfew hours in violation of prison rules.
Besides, the AAP Minister also met his wife Poonam Jain and other family members in Jail at restricted places, which are not meant for such visits.
The report also revealed that the AAP Minister made fraudulent use of jail account cards of prison inmates, which were recharged by the jail warden, to purchase food, fruits and other items for his personal use.
“3-4 Jail account cards were used by Satyendra Jain and his close aide Sanjay Gupta to purchase consumables from the jail canteen. This was done to circumvent the monthly monetary limit of Rs 7,000 per card per month,” it emphasised.
Inmates record their confessions before the Inquiry Committee: Report
Afsar Ali, Sonu Singh and Dilip Kumar were made to provide cleaning services to Jain while Manish was given the charge of arranging fruits and outside food for the AAP Minister.
Manish revealed, “By using my card, I used to purchase fruits from jail canteen for Satyendra Jain. He deposited money in my jail account card 3-4 times and each time he deposited Rs 6,900… I did not provide services to Jain willingly.”
According to Afsar Ali, he was under the false impression that Satyendar Jain and Sanjay Gupta would help him financially to come out of the jail. However, he later discovered that his jail card was being used by Gupta and funded for his personal use.
Tihar inmate Sonu Singh said that he was under pressure to comply with the diktat of the jail Munshi as the latter would produce him before the supervising jail staff for non-compliance.
Another prison inmate, Dilip Kumar, revealed that he was forced to provide cleaning services to the AAP Minister at the behest of the Jail Munshi. He clarified that such services were not accorded to other prisoners in Tihar.
The Background of the Controversy
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Satyendar Jain is under the spotlight over the special treatment meted out to him in Tihar Jail.
Much to the embarrassment of the party, several CCTV videos have surfaced on social media showing Jain’s luxurious experience in his prison cell despite the party’s denials of special treatment
On November 19, a video went viral on social media showing VIP treatment being meted out to Jain. Jain was seen receiving foot and head massages. In a bizarre defence of Jain getting a foot massage, Manish Sisodia claimed that Jain was taking physiotherapy for a ‘spine injury.’
मौज है मौज। सत्येंद्र जैन का तिहाड़ी मसाज पार्लर
— SHAMSHER SINGH (@ShamsherSLive) November 19, 2022
जैन की मौज
सत्येंद्र जैन का मसाज वीडियो वायरल !
जेल में बंद सत्येंद्र जैन का वीडियो। #SatyendarJain pic.twitter.com/KasD0LP9kP
Later on, it was revealed that the masseur of jailed Delhi Minister Satyendra Jain whose videos of getting massages went viral has been identified as one rape accused named Rinku, and not a physiotherapist.
After the video of Jain receiving massages went viral, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia justified the VVIP treatment he was receiving, stating it was “treatment for injury.”
The deputy chief minister of Delhi claimed that a doctor had instructed physiotherapy for the minister due to a spinal injury. “Only the BJP can make cruel jokes by leaking CCTV footage of a patient’s treatment… “Satyendar Jain’s spine was damaged, and that’s on record,” Sisodia told the media.
Delhi Dy CM Manish Sisodia terms the video of jailed Delhi minister & AAP leader Satyendar Jain that surfaced “treatment for injury”, says, “Only BJP can make cruel jokes by leaking CCTV footage of an injured person’s treatment… His spine was damaged, it’s on record” pic.twitter.com/zzPriSLeFQ
— ANI (@ANI) November 19, 2022
Satyendar Jain was also seen interacting with the now-suspended Tihar jail superintendent Ajit Kumar while he lay comfortably on his bed. In another CCTV footage, a man dressed in black was spotted sweeping the floor with a wet rag while another man was seen arranging the pillows on the bed.
