New Delhi, Mar 2 (IANS): The Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, V.K. Saxena, has sanctioned a CBI probe against former Delhi minister and AAP leader Satyendar Jain for allegedly extorting Rs 10 crore from incarcerated conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar, who was then lodged in Tihar Jail.

In November last year, Chandrashekhar had filed a complaint with the L-G accusing Jain, who was lodged at Tihar Jail No. 70 at the time, of threatening him through the DG Prison and jail administration to withdraw a complaint filed in the Delhi High Court.

In his letter to the L-G, Chandrashekhar had claimed that he paid Rs 10 crore as protection money to Jain, whom he knew since 2015, besides contributing more than Rs 50 crore to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as he was promised an important position within the party in south India.

According to officials, the CBI inquiry has been sanctioned under Section 17A of Prevention of Corruption (POC) Act against the former Delhi minister.

Jain was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case in May 2022, and is lodged in Tihar Jail since then.

Sources said that Jain is also accused of running a high-profile extortion racket from the jail, and the accusations include demanding Rs 10 crore as 'protection money' from Chandrashekhar so as to enable him to "live peacefully and comfortably in jail".

Saxena, having granted his sanction for the CBI inquiry, also referred the matter to the Ministry of Home Affairs for necessary action.

Notably, on February 9, the L-G had sanctioned a CBI inquiry against Raj Kumar, then Superintendent of Tihar Jail, for alleged extortion activities at the behest of Jain and Sandeep Goel, the former DG of Tihar Jail.

The case relates to the allegations levelled by Chandrashekhar that Jain had extorted and received Rs 10 crore from him in various instalments during 2018-21, either personally or through his associates, as protection money to enable him to live peacefully and comfortably in different jails of Delhi (Tihar, Rohini, and Mandoli).

Jain served as the Prison Minister in the AAP government before his arrest.

According to Chandrashekhar’s letter, after his arrest in 2017 in a corruption case, he was lodged in Tihar Jail where he was visited by Jain who asked him if he had disclosed anything related to his contributions to AAP to the investigating agency.

“Again in 2019, Jain and his secretary and close friend Sushil visited the jail and asked me to pay Rs 2 crore every month as protection money to live safely in the jail and enjoy the basic facilities,” Chandrashekhar's letter to the L-G read.

“He (Jain) also asked me to pay Rs 1.50 crore to DG Prison Sandeep Goel, calling him his 'loyal associate'. He forced me to pay over Rs 10 crore in the matter of just two-three months. The money was collected in Kolkata through his associate named Chatturwedi,” it read