‘Jain got massages by a rape accused in jail’

NEW DELHI: The masseur who was seen in video footage giving a massage to jailed Delhi minister Satyendar Jain is not a physiotherapist, but an inmate who is lodged in the Tihar Jail in a rape case, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

The claims come days after the Aam Aadmi Party, which had drawn flak over the videos, asserted that Jain was receiving physiotherapy in the jail, where he is in judicial custody for the past five months over moneylaundering charges.

Jain could be seen in the purported videos getting back and foot massages in his cell, reading some documents and talking to visitors while lying on a bed. Mineral water bottles and a remote are also seen. In one video, he was seen getting a head massage while sitting on a chair.

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia had claimed that Jain was receiving physiotherapy following a spinal injury and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of doing “cheap” politics on health issues by illegally leaking CCTV footage.

However, people familiar with the matter claimed that the man, who was seen giving Jain a massage in the videos, was a prisoner named Rinku.

“He is lodged in the prison in connection with a rape case and sections of the Pocso Act. Rinku is not a physiotherapist,” the sources said.

The BJP demanded on Tuesday that Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal should apologise to the nation and dismiss Jain.

At a press conference around afternoon, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia dared Kejriwal to respond to the fresh allegations “within an hour”.

He termed the AAP an “’arajak aparadhi’ party (anarchist criminal party)”, accusing it of defending the wrongdoing in

AAP HAD EARLIER CLAIMED JAIN WAS RECEIVING PHYSIOTHERAPY AND ACCUSED THE BJP OF ‘CHEAP’ POLITICS WHILE BJP ON TUESDAY DEMANDED KEJRIWAL DISMISS HIS MINISTER