CBI conducts searches at Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain's residence, AAP calls it 'vendetta politics'

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted searches at Delhi Health and PWD Minister Satyendar Jain's residence on Wednesday, May 30, morning.

The searches were in relation to alleged violation in the hiring of the creative team by Public Works Department (PWD), reported ANI. Jain also took to Twitter and confirmed the searches.

"Cbi raids my house for hiring creative team by PWD. Professionals were hired for different projects. All were forced to leave by cbi," he tweeted.

After the news of the search broke, the Aam Aadmi Party lashed out at the Centre and said that this was just a part of the Bharatiya Janata Party's "vendetta politics." 

"Vendetta Politics Continues...... *CBI closed the enquiry against @SatyendarJain's Daughter due to lack of enough prosecutable evidence. *CBI raids Delhi Health & PWD Minister Satyendar Jain 's house in the case of hiring of experts and creative consultant," AAP tweeted. 

Delhi CM and convenor of AAP Arvind Kejriwal also questioned the raid and slammed prime minister Narendra Modi. "What does PM Modi want?" he tweeted.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia also questioned the motive behind the CBI searches and said: "Six months ago, the CBI came to my house as well. We are working for education, for power, for so many other problems in the city. Nothing is going to come out of these raids. This is all happening just to distract the people from the work we are doing. They are trying to defame us."

Meanwhile, officials also told NDTV that a few other locations and houses of some PWD officers are also being searched. The raid comes after the CBI registered a preliminary enquiry into the hiring of 24 architects through an agency, which is said to have never undertaken such an assignment before. 

Jain is already facing a probe in a money laundering case and the CBI had raided his residence in August 2017 as well. An FIR too had been registered against him. 

"Four places in Delhi including the official residence of the minister, one of the places of his shell company and two of the places of his associates, were raided today (Friday). The CBI on Thursday has also registered an FIR of a disproportionate asset against Jain," the official told IANS at the time of the raid. 

AAP had spoken up in favour of Jain after the raid and said in a statement: "Jain is facing the charges of money laundering which is completely false. The BJP at Centre is misusing the CBI and the Income Tax department and is trying to frame Jain."

However, the CBI had clarified that it recovered documents related to property and bank transactions worth millions. The Income Tax department is also known to have seized Jain's 220 bighas of land in outer Delhi under the Benami Properties Act.