Defending Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in an alleged money laundering case, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said Jain is a “patriot” and stressed that the Delhi Health Minister should be given a Padma Vibhushan.

“Satyendar Jain is a patriot. The country should be proud of him, he gave the Mohalla clinic to Delhi. People from across the world have come to see it. He should be given Padma Vibhushan,” Kejriwal said during his visit and inspection at the coronation STP water treatment plant.

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Further, confident that the case against Jain is fake, Kejriwal said, “Let everyone enquire into him; CBI has already cleared him, ED will as well.”

Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian award in India, is given for “exceptional and distinguished service”.

Jain was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in an alleged money laundering case and sent to custody till June 9.

The Delhi Chief Minister has backed Jain since day one of the arrests. On Tuesday, Kejriwal said that he has personally read the case, and the allegations against Jain are ‘false’.

“I have personally read all the papers and case filed against Satyendra Jain by ED and it is completely false. We have a very strict and honest government. We are hard-core patriots, who can get beheaded but can never betray the country. His arrest is politically motivated,” he said.

Notably, the Central Bureau of Investigation has refuted reports claiming that the agency has filed a closure report against Jain in the Disproportionate Assets (DA) case.

“No closure report has been filed against Satyendar Jain,” a CBI official told a news agency. The CBI had registered a DA case against Satyendar Jain on August 24, 2017, and filed a charge sheet against him on December 3, 2018, the agency official told the news agency.

The CBI was the first to register a Preliminary Enquiry (PE) in 2017 after receiving a complaint from the Vigilance Department of the Delhi government.

Later an FIR was registered based on the findings, and searches and raids were conducted. Jain had reportedly floated or bought several shell companies in Delhi. He also allegedly laundered black money worth Rs 16.39 crore through 54 shell companies of three hawala operators of Kolkata. Jain allegedly owned a large number of shares in companies named Prayas, Indo, and Akinchan.

However, after becoming Minister in Kejriwal’s government, all his shares were transferred to his wife in 2015, as per reports. These companies used to transfer cash payments to their Kolkata counterparts and these companies would later, under the ruse of buying shares, “route back the money” to Jain by employing legal means. The companies have reportedly laundered money to the tune of Rs 16.39 crores from 2010 to 2014 to Satyendra Jain.

Union Minister Smriti Irani lambasted Kejriwal for “giving a clean chit” to Jain.

(With inputs from ANI)