Delhi Jal Board scam: Former CEO Udit Rai gets 2-day ACB custody

Former Delhi Jal Board CEO Udit Prakash Rai and Nagendra Yadav have been sent to two days of ACB custody by a Delhi court in connection with the DJB STP tender scam. Six accused, including Satyendar Jain, have been arrested in the case.

The Rouse Avenue court on Saturday granted two days of custody of former Delhi Jal Board (DJB) CEO Udit Prakash Rai and Nagendra Yadav to the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) in connection with the DJB STP tender scam case. It is alleged that the tender conditions were manipulated to favour a particular company. Six accused, including former Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain, have been arrested in the case.

Court Grants Two-Day Custody

Special Judge (MP-MLA) Dig Vinay Singh allowed the application moved by the ACB seeking two days of custody of Udit Prakash Rai and Nagendra Yadav. The court said that keeping in view the above-mentioned facts and circumstances, so far as the two days' police custody application of accused Udit Prakash and Nagendra Yadav are concerned, this Court is of the considered opinion that their two days' police custody is justified and necessary in the facts and circumstances of this case.

"Their Police Custody is indeed necessary for a fair investigation for the above-mentioned reasons; their custodial interrogation is also necessary to unearth other aspects of the conspiracy, including other persons involved," Special Judge ordered on August 29.

Details of the Allegations

Investigating Agency seeks Police Custody of the two accused, stating that their detailed interrogation is required on the ground as contained in the applications concerning the both accused. It is alleged that Nagendra Yadav acted as a key middleman and conduit. Nagendra Yadav received approximately Rs. 1.95 Crores into his bank accounts from entities connected with Euroteck. On 19.01.2023, Nagendra Yadav transferred Rs. 61 Lakhs directly through banking channels into the personal bank account of Udit Prakash Rai, the then CEO of DJB. Another Rs. 91 Lakhs were transferred by Nagendra Yadav to the mother-in-law of Rai.

Allegedly, these funds were utilised for the purchase of immovable properties. Additionally, electronic evidence and WhatsApp chats recovered from the mobile phone of Nagendra Yadav reveal direct communications with Raja Kumar Kurra and Vinod Chauhan regarding illegal hawala transactions, including The transaction on 07.05.2022, where details of a hawala operator (Rockey) and serial numbers of Indian Currency Notes were exchanged to transfer Rs 75 lakhs, with Nagendra Yadav subsequently confirming receipt of the cash, the ACB alleged.

Case Background and Legal Proceedings

The court also allowed legal meetings and access to medicines during the custody period. The court directed the investigating officer to produce the accused before it at 2 pm after completion of the two-day police custody. Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) Manish Rawat appeared for the ACB. Senior Advocate Mohit Mathur appeared for Udit Prakash Rai and opposed the custody remand application.

On August 27, the Rouse Avenue court had issued production warrants for Udit Prakash Rai, former CEO of the Delhi Jal Board, and Nagendra Yadav. Both were produced before the court on August 29 and were in judicial custody.

Duty Judge Neha Paliwal Sharma had issued the production warrants after hearing an application moved by the ACB in connection with the DJB STP tender scam case.

The present FIR originated from a Vigilance reference dated May 10, 2024, from the Directorate of Vigilance, GNCTD, alleging a corruption scam involving hundreds of crores of rupees in the Delhi Jal Board. The allegations pertain to the tendering process and subsequent award of contracts for the augmentation and upgradation of 10 Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) across Delhi.

The 10 STPs were divided into four blocks or packages, with a total tendered value of approximately Rs 1,943 crore. It is alleged that public servants from the DJB were in league with private contractors, technology providers and intermediaries and manipulated tender conditions, inflated cost estimates and diluted environmental standards to ensure that the contracts were awarded to a select cartel.

According to the allegations, the alleged irregularities resulted in wrongful loss to the public exchequer and wrongful gains to private entities.

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