Minister Satyendar Jain held as he is Himachal Pradesh poll in-charge: AAP

NEW DELHI:  The ED brought in Health Minister Satyendar Jain in an eight-year-old case of money laundering on Monday, and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the move by the BJP comes after the party felt it faces uncertain prospects for the upcoming polls in Himachal Pradesh. Jain is AAP’s incharge for the polls in the hill state.

“A fake case has been going on against Satyendar Jain for eight years. He has been called by the ED several times so far. The ED had stopped calling him for some time because it did not find anything against him. Now, it has again been resurrected because he is the AAP incharge for Himachal Pradesh elections,” Sisodia said in a tweet.

The Enforcement Directorate had said last month that assets worth `4.81 crore of Jain’s family and companies ‘beneficially owned and controlled’ by him were provisionally attached as part of a money laundering probe against him. The agency had questioned the AAP leader in connection with the case in 2018. 

Later, at a press conference here, senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh said Jain was earlier summoned by the ED seven times but was never arrested. He has been arrested now to “defame” the AAP ahead of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls, Singh alleged. The BJP government has alleged that Jain was involved in “hawala” work through certain companies between 2015 and 2017.