AAP leader Satyendar Jain addressed allegations made against him on Saturday regarding receiving a massage in Tihar Jail while he was imprisoned in a money laundering case. He clarified that he was actually undergoing physiotherapy due to severe leg pain.
The controversy began in November 2022 when CCTV footage from Tihar Jail showed what some interpreted as a massage being administered to Jain, who was serving as the Delhi prisons department minister at the time. In an AAP statement, Jain described the video as an “exaggeration,” explaining that a doctor had advised him to rest in a room with better amenities. He stated he was unable to bend or lift anything due to his condition.
“During that time, I had severe leg pain. They arranged everything accordingly,” Jain explained. He questioned the credibility of the claims, asking, “Does anyone ever get a massage fully clothed?” and insisted that the physiotherapist was merely fulfilling his professional duties.
Jain was granted bail by a Delhi court after spending 18 months in Tihar Jail, where he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in March 2022. He asserted that Tihar Jail is equipped with cameras, questioning why only footage of him surfaced. He also dismissed claims about his diet, stating he consumed only seasonal fruits and vegetables, resulting in a weight loss of 40 kg during his imprisonment.
Jain accused the BJP of attempting to “torture” him by isolating him in jail, adding, “If not for the judiciary, the BJP would have hanged me.” He further criticized the timing of the allegations, linking them to the Gujarat elections. In response, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor dismissed Jain’s statements as “ridiculous,” suggesting that if Jain faced issues in Tihar, he should have reported them to the court. After his release, Jain visited a Jain temple with his family and later attended a party meeting with AAP leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal.
