Delhi Jal Board Scam: Some Proceeds of Crime Went to AAP Election Funding, Says ED Chargesheet

After the alleged Liquorgate scam, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) could be at odds with each other. This comes after the ED in its chargesheet claimed that corruption and money-laundering did occur in the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and the proceeds of the crime were used in election funding for AAP. 

As per the chargesheet, DJB gave a tender for water supply installation and maintenance to a company named NKG Infrastructure that did not meet the required criteria, who also allegedly gave false documents to obtain the tender. 

The case was first filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and then subsequently also taken up by ED. The investigation by the central agencies began in 2022. 

On January 31, 2024, the main accused in this case, identified as Jagdish Kumar Arora, the then Chief Engineer of DJB was arrested by ED.

Besides JK Arora, the other accused in this case include Sushil Kumar Goyal, Praveen Kumar Gupta, Ashok Sharma, Tajinder Pal Singh, Sadhan Kumar, and Pradeep Kumar Garg, among others. 

The Enforcement Directorate claims that corruption existed to the tune of Rs 38 crore. In this amount, the proceeds of the crime amounting to Rs 2.01 crore were allegedly paid for election funding of AAP. 

However, ED said that the main beneficiary of this alleged money transfer is being investigated.

Meanwhile, the DJB recently attached assets worth Rs 8.8 crore belonging to JK Arora, his wife Alka Arora, and some others associated with the scam.