The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Rajasthan on Wednesday made significant headway in a major corruption case, arresting five individuals linked to alleged large-scale irregularities in water supply works under the central government's flagship Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) in the state.
Swift Action Following CM's Nod for Probe
These arrests come within ten days of Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma authorising a detailed investigation into the scam. ACB officials stated that the arrests were a direct result of the Chief Minister's approval, which led to the formation of a dedicated Special Investigation Team (SIT).
The five individuals taken into custody are: Mahesh Kumar Mittal, owner of Ganpati Tubewell; his son Hemant Mittal alias Golu; Umesh Kumar Sharma, who served as manager and liaison officer for Shyam Tubewell; Gopal Kumawat, the former accounts officer of the Public Health and Engineering Department (PHED); and Piyush Jain, son of Padam Chand Jain, the proprietor of Shyam Tubewell.
Collusion and Modus Operandi Uncovered
The case originates from an FIR filed in 2023. The ACB investigation found that two companies—Shyam Tubewell and Ganpati Tubewell—secured lucrative tenders under the JJM by allegedly colluding with corrupt PHED officials.
These officials include Maya Lal Saini, the then executive engineer of PHED's Behror division; Rakesh Chauhan, an assistant engineer in the Neemrana sub-division; and Pradeep Kumar, a junior engineer from the same sub-division. All three, along with two others, were arrested earlier, bringing the total number of arrests in this case to ten.
The bureau alleges a well-coordinated conspiracy where the beneficiary firms and PHED officials worked hand-in-glove. The irregularities included arbitrarily filling measurement books, carrying out substandard work, and fraudulently withdrawing crores of rupees from the government treasury.
Recorded telephonic conversations between the accused provided crucial evidence of this collusion. Investigators claim the accused obtained treasury payments through irregular means and generated undue personal profits by bribing departmental officers.
SIT's Technical Investigation Leads to Arrests
Following the CM's directive, an SIT was constituted under Superintendent of Police Mahaveer Singh Ranawat to expedite all JJM-related cases. The team included Additional SPs Himanshu Kuldeep, Bhupendra, and Mahaveer Prasad Sharma.
ACB Govind Gupta explained that the SIT conducted a meticulous analysis of conversation transcripts and technical evidence obtained from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL). Using these technical inputs, the team tracked down and arrested the accused from various locations in Jaipur on Wednesday.
The ACB had previously conducted surprise inspections against six persons in JJM cases and filed a chargesheet in court. The bureau confirmed that the remaining accused in the case are currently absconding, and the search for them is ongoing.
