ED conducts searches in poll-bound Rajasthan in Jal Jivan Mission 'scam'

Raids were carried out in a senior bureaucrat in the Public Engineering department, Subodh Agarwal’s premises. Agarwal is the additional chief secretary in the PHED and water resources department and works under minister Mahesh Joshi, who is a close confidant of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

Jaipur: Fresh Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids continued across 25 locations in Rajasthan today, throwing a spanner in the poll preparations, especially in the ruling Congress camp. 

These Raids are a part of the ED’s investigation into the money laundering in the alleged Jal Jeevan Mission scam. It is a Central government project to ensure potable drinking water through tap connections to every household in the rural areas. The project is being implemented by the state PHED department. 

According to sources, ED has been conducting raids in multiple places in Jaipur and Dausa.

BJP MP Kirori Lal Meena had alleged a Rs 20,000 crore scam in the Jal Jeevan Mission. Houses of several PHED engineers have been raided along with property dealers.

The case is part of the Rajasthan Anti Corruption Bureau’s investigation into an FIR that alleges one Padamchand Jain, proprietor of Shree Shyam Tubewell Company and Mahesh Mittal of Shree Ganpat Tubewell Company, gave bribes to government officials to get tenders, bill cleared illegally and to cover up for the shoddy work done. 

Earlier, the ED had conducted raids on October 26 on state Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra’s house in Jaipur and Sikar. ED had also summoned Chief Minister Gehlot’s son Vaibhav to Delhi in another case under FEMA. Two sons of Dotasra have also been called to Delhi next week for questioning in the REET paper leak scam.

Gehlot has said the ED officials are descending on the state just like locust swarms, just before the elections. 

Rajasthan goes to polls on Nov 25.