ACB submits report to Delhi government in CCTV ‘bribery’ case

NEW DELHI:The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of Delhi police has completed its preliminary inquiry into the alleged bribery of Rs 7 crore that was paid to former Public Work Department minister Satyendra Jain by officials of the Bharat Electronic Limited (BEL).The ACB in its report submitted to the Delhi government, which is awaiting a final sanction order for prosecution from the state government, has identified atleast five government officials, including three from BEL, for their alleged role in the bribery scam.
According to sources in the Delhi ACB, the preliminary inquiry was submitted to the Delhi government some 15 days ago. The ACB can only file an FIR in the case after getting a go-ahead from the government to prosecute Jain and other officials.
As per rules, the Delhi government has a minimum time of one month to study the report and give its decision on whether to go ahead with the prosecution of those named in the report.
It is only after the Delhi government gives its nod that the ACB can seek custody of Jain and other officials involved in this alleged corruption for questioning. An ACB source told The Sunday Guardian that during its inquiry, it found incriminating evidence against the former PWD Delhi Minister who allegedly took a bribe of Rs 7 crore from BEL officials. The source also confirmed to this newspaper that Satyendra Jain is the prime accused in this case and along with him at least three to five officers from BEL and PWD (together) have been found to be involved in this case.
This alleged scam was first reported by The Sunday Guardian on 8 January 2023, (‘Bribe was paid to get penalty waived in Delhi CCTV project’). Jain was allegedly paid the bribe around August 2019 after he announced that he was imposing a fine of Rs 16 crore on BEL for not meeting the deadline of installing 1.40 lakh CCTV cameras in Delhi by 15 June 2019 as was stipulated in the contract.
As per documents accessed by The Sunday Guardian, upon learning about the stiff penalty that the Delhi government was going to impose on BEL, officials from the PSU concerned met Jain after which a settlement amount of Rs 7 crore was arrived at to get the said penalty waived. The ACB began its investigation in this case on 11 January, after it was first reported by this newspaper. The ACB carried out its investigation for two weeks, during which it had gathered all the documents, including the minutes of the meeting where it was mentioned on record by BEL officials about handing over a bribe of Rs 7 crore to the then PWD minister of Delhi.
The anti-graft unit during its course of investigation spoke to people within BEL to ascertain more facts of the case; it has also recorded statements from officials of BEL who were part of the project to ensure a water-tight case in this matter.