Conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar alleges Arvind Kejriwal asked him to collect Rs 500 crore for AAP; party denies charge

New Delhi, November 5

Jailed conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar has made fresh accusations against AAP leaders, alleging that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asked him to collect Rs 500 crore for the party and Delhi minister Satyender Jain threatened him.

The AAP has dismissed his charges.

In a ‘letter’ addressed to the media, Chandrashekhar, who is lodged in Mandoli Jail here, also claimed that he gave more than Rs 50 crore to AAP which promised to nominate him to Rajya Sabha and after that Kejriwal attended a dinner party with Jain hosted by Chandrashekhar in 2016.

AAP leader and Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Saturday alleged that the BJP had struck a deal with the “conman sitting in Tihar”. He will level absurd allegations against Kejriwal every day and in return, the BJP will help him in the case, he tweeted.

Senior AAP leader Atishi alleged that after the failures of the ED, CBI, Income Tax, LG, and Delhi Police, the BJP has turned to the country’s “biggest conman” for help against the AAP.

However, the national spokesperson of BJP, Shezad Poonawala, asked Kejriwal if he had met the conman “at the farmhouse of his minister Kailash Gahlot” and sought to know what discussions were held.

He demanded that Kejriwal sack both Jain and Gahlot from his Cabinet. Jain is in jail in connection with a money laundering case.

In a letter to Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, Chandrashekhar had alleged that Jain extorted Rs 10 crore in 2019 for his “safety” in the prison.

He has now alleged that Jain, along with the former Tihar Director General, threatened him after his letter to the LG became public.

He claimed that he has submitted another complaint to the LG on Thursday detailing the allegations of corruption against Kejriwal, Jain and another AAP minister Kailash Gahlot.

Chandrashekhar alleged that Kejriwal forced him to bring “over 20 people to contribute Rs 500 crore towards his party”.

“If you think I am the biggest ‘thug’, why did you accept Rs 50 crore from me,” he asked Kejriwal.

The letter to the LG had alleged that he gave more than Rs 50 crore to AAP which promised to give Chandrashekhar an important post in the party in South Zone and also help him get nominated to Rajya Sabha following the expansion.

He had alleged that after his arrest in 2017 for the ‘two leaf symbol corruption case’ he was lodged in Tihar Jail and was visited by Jain, who held the portfolio of the Jail ministry multiple times, asking him if he had disclosed anything related to his contribution to AAP to the investigating agency.

“Thereafter in 2019 again I was visited by Satyender Jain and his Secretary and his close friend Sushil in jail, and asked me to pay Rs two crore every month to him as protection money to live safely in Jail, and to get even basic facilities,” he alleged.

He claimed that Jain “asked me to pay Rs 1.50 crore to DG prison Sandeep Goel, who he said was a loyal associate of his. He forced me to pay and the total amount of Rs 10 crore in a matter of 2 to 3 months was extorted from me through constant pressure.”

He added that all the money was collected in Kolkata through his associate.

“Hence a total amount of Rs 10 crore was paid to Satyender Jain, and Rs 12.50 crore to DG prison Sandeep Goel,” the letter alleged, adding that Chandrashekhar had told the Enforcement Directorate about it.

Sandeep Goel was transferred from the Tihar Jail here, days after Chandrashekhar made the allegations, and the 1989-batch AGMUT cadre officer has been Jail and asked to report to the police headquarters (PHQ) for further orders.

Sanjay Beniwal, a 1989-batch IPS officer, is the new DG (Prisons).

AAP leaders bristled at the allegations, with Atishi saying that Chandrashekhar has become the “star campaigner” of the BJP. She claimed he will be released from the jail before MCD polls in Delhi and Gujarat and join the party.

The BJP is scared of losing Gujarat and MCD polls so they are making baseless allegations against AAP every day, she claimed.

“I have heard that Nadda ji will get him to join the BJP next week,” Sisodia tweeted.

Chandrashekhar was arrested after the Economic Offences Wing of the Delhi Police lodged an FIR for cheating and extorting money from several individuals, including Religare Enterprises’ former promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh’s wife Aditi Singh.