NEW DELHI: Delhi’s Health Minister Satyendar Jain will have to spend at least two more weeks in jail as a city court on Monday extended his judicial custody for another 14 days. Special Judge Geetanjli Goel passed the order on a plea moved by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Earlier in the day, the judge had refused to entertain the plea noting that neither Jain nor his lawyer was present before the court. After being informed that Jain was hospitalised, the court directed the probe agency to ensure Jain’s presence before it later in the day through video conference.
The AAP leader was admitted to Lok Nayak Hospital on June 20 after his oxygen level dipped. Two days earlier, he had been denied bail. He was arrested by the Central agency on May 30 in a money laundering case, based on a 2017 FIR registered by the CBI, and sent to jail on June 13 on completion of his custodial questioning.
Reacting to the extension of Jain’s custody, AAP leader Gopal Rai alleged the Centre was “shamelessly” misusing the Central agency against opposition parties that dared to question it. “It’s not a secret anymore and it’s not about one or two opposition parties but every party that dares to raise its voice against the BJP,” Rai said.