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Another video of Delhi minister Satyendar Jain from Tihar Jail amid AAP vs BJP
Satyendar Jain via his counsel Rahul Mehra moved an application in a special court this week seeking its direction to restrain media from airing CCTV footage pertaining to him at Tihar Jail. On Thursday, the application was withdrawn with Mehra saying they will move the Delhi high court instead.
A new video of Delhi minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Satyendar Jain from his cell at the national capital's Tihar Jail emerged online on Saturday. This is the third video clip to surface since the row over leaked videos from his jail cell began last week. In the new clip, Jain is seen lying on his bed inside the cell and speaking with three men around him; one of them is seen sitting on a chair. Soon after the men leave the cell and another man, dressed in shirt and trousers, enters and takes the seat on the chair.
The nearly 10 minutes long video clip is reported to be a CCTV footage captured on September 12. The man - in shirt and trousers - is Ajit Kumar, who was Tihar Jail superintendent at the time, news agency ANI reported. He was suspended from his role earlier this month.
HT cannot independently verify the authenticity of the clip.
Kumar was suspended amid allegations that Jain was given special treatment at Tihar in connivance with prison authorities. The superintendent has prima facie been found to have committed irregularities which are being probed, officials aware of the development said had told HT, adding that government is also contemplating disciplinary action against him. Tihar Jail comes under the purview of the Delhi government, which is ruled by the AAP.
The latest video has emerged even as Jain via his counsel Rahul Mehra moved an application in a special court this week seeking its direction to restrain media from airing or broadcasting CCTV footage pertaining to the minister at Tihar. However, on Thursday, the application was withdrawn with Mehra saying that they will move the Delhi High Court instead.
The AAP has been at the receiving end of criticism by the BJP since two videos of Jain leaked from his jail cell at Tihar. One showed him getting a massage while another saw him getting outside food inside his cell. The AAP countered the attacks by saying the jailed minister was getting “physiotherapy” owing to his medical reasons.
Meanwhile, Jain and his team has clashed with Tihar authorities over his “treatment” at the prison, with the minister earlier this week submitting to a Delhi court that he was not given “proper food” as per his religious beliefs and medical checkups. Mehra also claimed that Jain has lost 28kg in jail.
He has also said that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is leaking sensitive information to media. The central agency counsel Zohaib Hossain, however, has denied the charges and said not a single leak has happened from their side.
Jain has been behind bars since May this year following his arrest by the ED in a money laundering case. The investigation in the matter is based on a 2017 case of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which alleged that Jain and his wife Poonam Jain amassed disproportionate assets worth ₹1.47 crore from February 2015 to May 2017, much higher than their known income sources.
