As Expected, Kejriwal Claims Sickness in Jail. How Sanjay Singh Got Bail

As Expected, Kejriwal Claims Sickness in Jail. How Sanjay Singh Got Bail

The ED already believes that Kejriwal is the kingpin in the Delhi liquor mafia case and immediately after Kejriwal’s imprisonment the ED facilitated Sanjay Singh’s release on bail. 

By Rakesh Raman

Most corrupt politicians in India complain of health problems when they are jailed so that they could be shifted from jails to the comforts of luxurious hospitals. 

Delhi chief minister (CM) Arvind Kejriwal – who was sent to Delhi’s Tihar jail on March 28 in the liquor mafia case – claims that he has fallen sick and lost 4.5 kg in jail. However, the jail authorities have refuted Kejriwal’s claims.

Although Kejriwal had been stating that he is not scared of going to jail, he is so timid that he could not spend even a few days in jail and wants to come out on flimsy grounds.

He has been making lame excuses ever since the Enforcement Directorate (ED) started calling him for questioning in the liquor scam case. Kejriwal defied nine summonses of ED after which ED officials went to his home to arrest him on March 21.

Earlier, instead of going for the ED hearings, Kejriwal asked the ED officials to interrogate him online, although the ED declined his request. In fact, Kejriwal is not willing to stay in jail despite numerous cases of alleged corruption against him.

Besides corruption in liquor policy case, it is alleged that Kejriwal has squandered public money in excess of Rs. 45 crore to renovate his house. In September last year, the CBI launched a preliminary inquiry into alleged irregularities in the construction and renovation of Kejriwal’s house. Now, Kejriwal is tuned to living in a palace-like home and does not want to be caged in the jail cell.

Meanwhile, Kejriwal’s colleague Sanjay Singh – who was also in Tihar jail for his alleged involvement in the liquor mafia case – was granted bail on April 2 when the ED did not object to his bail.

Although the ED persistently objects to bails in courts, surprisingly the ED did not raise any objection in Sanjay Singh’s case when he sought bail in the court after spending almost 6 months in jail.

Normally, the investigating agencies such as the ED do not resist bails to the accused if they turn approvers in a case so that the kingpins in the crime could be convicted. 

The ED already believes that Kejriwal is the kingpin in the Delhi liquor mafia case and immediately after Kejriwal’s imprisonment, the ED facilitated Sanjay Singh’s release on bail. 

So, there is a possibility that Sanjay Singh has turned approver and on the basis of crucial information provided secretly by him, the ED could collect substantial evidence to arrest and incarcerate Kejriwal. 

Moreover, reports suggest that the ED dragnet will soon extend to more AAP leaders including Atishi, Raghav Chadha, Saurabh Bhardwaj, and Durgesh Pathak. Some of these names are already in the files of the ED or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). 

But instead of telling lies in their impromptu press conferences, if they cooperate with the ED and tell the truth of the liquor mafia case, they too can hope to get relief as Sanjay Singh got with the help of ED.

Now Kejriwal and two more AAP leaders – including Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain – are in jail for alleged money laundering and corruption crimes. 

Meanwhile, on April 2, the ED accused AAP leaders of bribery and corruption in the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) scam, claiming that AAP used the corruption money as election funds.

In an ongoing RMN Poll, 81% people say that Kejriwal should resign from the CM position as he has been jailed. But Kejriwal has not yet resigned.

By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of the humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society.