‘My therapy was called massage’: Former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain - The Times of India

[Atul Mathur]

NEW DELHI: Former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain claimed on Saturday that he was falsely accused of getting a massage in Tihar Jail while he was undergoing physiotherapy due to “severe pain” in his leg.
The senior AAP functionary also alleged that he was kept in “solitary confinement” for months, and while everyone had a TV in jail, he did not have a separate one. He claimed he had consumed only vegetables and fruits in jail and lost over 40kg during his incarceration.

A controversy had broken out in Nov 2022 when CCTV camera footage from Tihar had surfaced showing Jain allegedly being given a "massage".In a statement issued by AAP, Jain said the video was an “exaggeration”.
He said the doctor had prescribed bed rest for a month and the hospital doctors suggested he should stay in a room with better facilities. He could not bend or lift anything and his movement was restricted. “During that time, I had severe leg pain. They arranged everything accordingly. Does anyone ever get a massage fully clothed? The physiotherapist was just doing his job, yet they falsely claimed I was getting a massage," Jain said. “If BJP is making these claims, why did they not release the video earlier? They only started airing it during the Gujarat elections?” he said.
The former health minister, who also held the charge of prisons among other departments, was arrested by Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case in May 2022. He was granted bail by a Delhi court on Friday and was released the same evening.
Jain said there were CCTV cameras all around in the jail and asked why only his footage was available.
“They claimed I was having lavish meals, but all I had were seasonal fruits and vegetables," Jain said. He added that he did not eat anything else the entire year and lost 40 kg in weight.
“There's a canteen where anyone can buy food and I have all the bills to prove it. They said I drank bottled water but I bought it from the canteen, which is available to everyone,” he said.
The former minister also claimed that everyone had a TV in jail but he did not have a separate one. “For months, I was kept in a barrack where even notorious criminals are not kept for more than 15 days,” he claimed. “I was kept isolated, and even after doctors advised otherwise, they refused to let me be with others as they wanted to torture me,” he alleged, adding that if it was not for the judiciary, BJP would have got him hanged.
Delhi BJP spokesperson, Praveen Shankar Kapoor, said Jain’s statement was “laughable” and “contains nothing new”.
“AAP leaders spin fabricated stories of persecution after release on bail. If Jain was indeed facing discrimination or denied legal rights, he should have raised the matter in the relevant court rather than stay silent,” Kapoor said. “It was Jain’s personal choice to consume only premium fruits and vegetables in jail and drink Bisleri water. The jail authorities provided him with nutritious food and water as per court orders, which he deliberately refused, not as an act of sacrifice.”
No immediate reaction was available from Tihar.