Rajasthan: Five arrested in Jal Jeevan Mission corruption case

Jaipur, Dec 17 (IANS) Acting on directions from the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Headquarters, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has arrested five accused in Rajasthan in connection with the alleged irregularities in the Jal Jeevan Mission project.

The arrested persons are Mahesh Kumar Mittal, proprietor of Ganpati Tubewell; Hemant Mittal alias Golu, son of Mahesh Kumar Mittal; Umesh Kumar Sharma, manager and liaison officer of Shyam Tubewell; Gopal Kumawat, then Accounts Officer, Public Health Engineering Department (PHED); and Piyush Jain, son of Padam Chand Jain and proprietor of Shyam Tubewell.

The arrests pertain to Case No. 215/23 involving M/s Shyam Tubewell (proprietor: Padam Chand Jain) and M/s Shri Ganpati Tubewell (proprietor: Mahesh Kumar Mittal).

According to the ACB, the firms, in collusion with PHED officials — Maya Lal Saini (then Executive Engineer, PHED Behror Division), Rakesh Chauhan (Assistant Engineer, Neemrana Sub-Division), and Pradeep Kumar (Junior Engineer, Neemrana Sub-Division) — secured Tender Nos. 15/21-22 and 33/21-22 under the Jal Jeevan Mission through illegal means.

The accused allegedly executed substandard work, manipulated measurement books, and fraudulently withdrew crores of rupees from the state treasury.

The ACB said telephonic conversations recorded during the investigation have provided concrete evidence of collusion and bribery.

Funds were allegedly siphoned off by paying bribes to departmental officials to secure undue benefits.

Director General of Police, ACB, Govind Gupta, said an SIT has been constituted under the chairmanship of Superintendent of Police Mahaveer Singh Ranawat to conduct a time-bound investigation into all Jal Jeevan Mission-related cases, arrest the remaining accused, and file charge-sheets before the court.

Senior officers SP Himanshu Kuldeep, Additional SP Bhupendra, and Mahaveer Prasad Sharma were part of the investigation team.

All call transcripts and technical evidence obtained from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) were thoroughly examined.

The ACB stated that surprise checks had earlier been conducted against six accused, following which charge-sheets were filed.

The remaining accused were absconding until Wednesday, when the SIT arrested the five individuals from different locations in Jaipur city using technical surveillance.

Investigators found evidence of Rs 2.20 lakh bribe transactions involving PHED officials, with the amount allegedly drawn from the state treasury.

The arrests were made under the supervision of Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Dr Rameshwar Singh and SP Mahaveer Singh Ranawat.

Under the overall supervision of Additional Director General of Police, ACB, Smita Srivastava, interrogation of the accused is ongoing.

The ACB said it will proceed under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and continue further investigation into the case.

arc/pgh