New Delhi: An inquiry committee constituted by Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena has found that jailed Delhi minister Satyendar Jain "misused" his official position to enjoy special treatment and facilities in the prison.
The report, submitted by a panel comprising principal secretaries of the Delhi government's Home, Law and Vigilance departments, has found that at least five Tihar inmates were allegedly pressurized by the jail administration to provide “special services” to the jailed minister.
The report mentions that the inmates did not offer any service to Satyendar Jain voluntarily or out of “love and affection” as cited by the suspended Jail Superintendent Ajit Kumar. Instead, they feared that if they refused to obey the orders, they would be given “Punishment Ticket” or tortured in the jail.
The report further mentions that several prison officials, including suspended Jail Superintendent Ajit Kumar, wardens, munshis and other staffers were involved in the service of Jain.
The report has identified at least five inmates Rinku (POCSO accused), Afsar Ali, Manish (POCSO accused), Sonu Singh and Dilip Kumar, who were coerced into providing the special services to the jailed minister.
Rinku, who is accused of raping a minor, said, “I have provided the massage to the inmate Satyendra Jain and that too at the instructions of jail officials. Now I am being threatened. I have not even taken a drop of water from the cell of Satyendra Jain for giving the massage.”
Rinku has informed the members of the committee that “he never got any training or course either in masseur work or for doing physiotherapy and that his main profession was to provide Ghodi services during marriage functions.”
Afsar Ali, who is serving a jail term for not paying maintenance to his wife, said, “I was under the impression that these people, that is Sanjay Gupta and Satyendar Jain would help me out in depositing the arrears of maintenance in the court for me and would help me financially to come out from jail…My jail account card was actually funded and used by Sanjay Gupta.”
He allegedly mopped and cleaned Satyendar Jain’s cell.
Manish, another POCSO accused, who provided fruits and outside food to Jain, said, “One Vikas, who was Warden in this jail used to deposit money in my jail account card. By using my card, I used to purchase fruits from jail canteen for Satyendra Jain. He deposited money in my jail account card 3-4 times and each time he deposited Rs. 6900/... I did not provide services to Satyendra Jain willingly.”
As per the report, Sonu Singh, who is in jail for not paying maintenance to his wife, “was asked by one Munshi of the jail to provide his services to Satyendra Jain. He had never done the work of sweeping and moping in his life and that he felt bad when he was asked to do the moping and cleaning of the cells of other inmates. He was under compulsion as he had to follow the instructions of Munshi and whenever he refused to oblige him, the Munshi used to produce him before the supervising jail staff.”
Dilip Kumar “provided cleaning services to Satyendra Jain at the instructions of Jail Munshi, Sushil. He did not provide such services to other Inmates. He did not provide the services in the cell of Satyendar Jain willingly but rather at the instructions of the Munshi. In case he dared to refuse, he could have invited the punishment ticket,” said the committee report.