AAP leader Satyendar Jain
Photo : ANI
New Delhi: Former Minister and senior AAP leader Satyendar Jain on Saturday claimed that he was falsely accused of getting a massage in Tihar Jail while he was undergoing physiotherapy due to “severe pain” in his leg. He also alleged to be kept in “solitary confinement” for several months. While other inmates were given a TV in jail, he did not have a separate one, Jain alleged further. The clarification comes two years after a controversy broke out in November 2022, when CCTV footage from Tihar jail allegedly showed the AAP leader being given a “massage.”
Jain also claimed to have only consumed vegetables and fruits during his time in jail and had lost over 40 kg. In a statement issued by the Aam Admi Party (AAP), Jail clarified that the video was an “exaggeration.”
The doctor had prescribed bed rest for a month, and the hospital doctors suggested that I should stay in a room with better facilities, Jain said further. “I could not bend or lift anything, and movement was also restricted,” he added.
“During that time, I had severe leg pain. They arranged everything accordingly. Does anyone ever get a massage fully clothed? The physiotherapist was just doing his job, yet they falsely claimed I was getting a massage,” Jain said.
He added, “Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who made these claims, why did they not release the video earlier? They only started airing it during the Gujarat elections.”
Jain, who had served as the health minister, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case in May 2022. However, on 18 October 2024, he was granted bail by a Delhi court and was released from jail. Debunking all the allegations made during his time in jail, Jain clarified: “They claimed I was having lavish meals, but all I had were seasonal fruits and vegetables.”
He also added that he did not eat anything else the entire year and lost 40 kg in weight. “There’s a canteen where anyone can buy food, and I have all the bills to prove it. They said I drank bottled water, but I bought it from the canteen, which is available to everyone,” added Jain.
The former minister alleged that, unlike others, he was denied a personal TV in jail. “For months, I was confined to a barrack where even dangerous criminals are not kept for more than 15 days,” he claimed. He further stated, “I was isolated, and despite medical advice, they refused to let me be with others, intending to torture me. If not for the judiciary, the BJP would have had me executed,” he added.
Responding to these allegations, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor dismissed Jain’s claims as “ridiculous” and “nothing new.”
“AAP leaders tend to fabricate tales of victimhood after being released on bail. If Jain truly faced any discrimination or legal rights violations, he should have addressed it in court rather than remaining silent,” Kapoor remarked. He also noted, “It was Jain’s personal decision to consume premium fruits, vegetables, and Bisleri water in jail. The jail authorities provided him with the necessary nutritious food and water as directed by the court, which he intentionally refused, not out of sacrifice.”
However, the authorities in Tihar Jail have not yet issued any official clarification or reaction to the statements made by the AAP leader.
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