Advertisement
Jaipur: On Tuesday, officials sources said that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids in connection with the investigation into the money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the Jal Jeevan Mission the premises of former Rajasthan minister Mahesh Joshi and some others .
Official sources gave this information. According to the information, raids are going on in Jaipur and Banswara in the state. An official said that searches were underway at six locations linked to former minister Mahesh Joshi.
The premises of five officials attached to the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED), considered close associates of Joshi, were also being searched. Sources said that premises linked to former Minister of Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department Joshi are being searched under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
In the recently held assembly elections in the state, Congress had refused to give ticket to Joshi to contest from Hawa Mahal seat in Jaipur. The money laundering case stems from an FIR by the Rajasthan Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), which alleged that Shree Shyam Tubewell Company owner Padmachand Jain, Shree Ganpati Tubewell Company owner Mahesh Mittal and others were involved in “bribing” public servants.
The agency had earlier claimed that several middlemen and property dealers had “helped” officials of the Rajasthan government’s PHE department to siphon off money “illegally earned” from the Jal Jeevan Mission. These bribes, according to the FIR, were made to obtain illegal protection, obtain tenders, get bills sanctioned and cover up irregularities in respect of work executed by them in respect of various tenders received by them from the PHED.
The Jal Jeevan Mission, launched by the Centre aims to provide safe and adequate drinking water through household tap connections. The scheme was implemented by the state PHED in Rajasthan. Tenders related to the works of Jeevan Mission were procured.
Then Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had alleged that the central agencies were acting on the directions of the BJP-led government at the Centre to target the Opposition. It also alleged that the investigation found that the contractors had procured water on the basis of allegedly “fake” work completion certificates issued by the Indian Railway Construction International Limited (IRCON) and by paying “bribes” to senior officials of the PHE department.
