‘Conman’ Sukesh Chandrashekhar’s new letter to L-G amid Arvind Kejriwal’s house row
In the wake of reports that ₹44.78 crore has been spent on renovating the residence of Arvind Kejriwal, alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar has reportedly wrote a fresh letter to the lieutenant governor VK Saxena claiming to have funded lavish furnishings present in the Delhi chief minister’s residence, Live Hindustan reported.
Chandrashekhar’s letter comes days after Saxena directed chief secretary Naresh Kumar to secure all relevant records, examine the records related to the expenditure and submit a report for the perusal of the L-G.
The Aam Aadmi Party has already dismissed the allegations related to the expenditure.
Lodged in Delhi’s Mandoli jail, Chandrashekhar, who is facing several cases of extortion, cheating and money-laundering case, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on February 16, 2023, for allegedly duping businessman Malvinder Singh’s wife Japna Singh for ₹3.5 crore.
In the letter, the ‘conman’ claimed that he had personally paid for the lavish furnishings and alleged that they were selected by Kejriwal himself, alongside jailed Aam Aadmi Party leader Satyendar Jain.
Chandrashekhar, in his letter sent to Saxena through his advocate Anant Malik, also claimed some of the furniture pieces were imported from Italy.
“This is to bring to the urgent notice that as the recent ongoing investigation in regard to the residence of Mr. Arvind Kejriwal and the expenses used from the public funds to luxurify the official residence, I would want to make full disclosures. During the said renovation and post, there were high-end furniture and bedding which were paid by me for the very same residence of Mr. Arvind Kejriwal which is currently under scrutiny,” Chandrashekhar alleged in the letter.
“The furniture was personally selected by Kejriwal and Satyender Jain based on pictures which were sent by me on whatsapp and facetime chats of Kejriwal’s mobile and Jain’s phone,” the letter added.
Chandrashekhar also alleged that he had purchased several items, including a Visionaire 12-seater dining table made of onyx stone in an olive green colour worth ₹45 lakh, a Visionaire dressing table for his bedroom and the children’s bedroom worth ₹34 lakh, seven Visionaire mirrors worth ₹18 Lakh, D. Rugs, bedspreads, and pillows totalling 30 pieces from Ralph Lauren worth approximately ₹28 lakh, and Panerai wall clocks worth ₹45 lakh.
“These furniture mentioned were purchased by me on billing from Mumbai and Delhi, as all the above furniture were imported from Italy and France. The payments were made by me from my firm’s News Express Post and LS Fisheries and the statement of records will be tendered to the investigation agency along with the whatsapp chats between me, Kejriwal and Satyender Jain, confirming it,” he alleged in the letter.
Chandrashekhar also claimed that all the furniture were directly delivered to the official residence of Kejriwal and installed there by his staff member Rishabh Shetty.
“Apart from these furniture mentioned he wanted silver crockery, which was given by a famous South Indian Jeweller worth ₹90 Lakhs in exchange of an allotment, kickback in Karol Bagh Project of the Jeweller introduced by me. There were 15 thali plates and 20 silver glass, few idols and multiple bowls, spoons all in pure silver, delivered to the official residence,” the letter further read.
“Once investigated all the above will be fully confirmed and proven. I humbly undertake to submit all the bills during investigation,” it added.
The Bharatiya Janata Pa rty has alleged that Kejriwal, while saying he is a common man, is living like a “king”. In turn, the AAP has stressed that the renovation was necessary because the CM’s residence was constructed 80 years ago and there had been three recent incidents of roof collapse.
The AAP said that, following this, the Public Works Department, responsible for the maintenance of the bungalow, recommended rebuilding it.