Jaipur: Congress leader Mahesh Joshi was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday in connection with the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) scam.
Joshi was questioned throughout the day at the ED headquarters before being taken into custody.
Despite multiple summons, Joshi had previously avoided appearing before the agency, citing personal reasons. However, on Thursday, he arrived at the ED office around 1 PM accompanied by a personal assistant. During the interrogation, officials presented several documents related to the scam and sought his response.
The JJM scam pertains to fraudulent tendering under the Central government’s Jal Jeevan Mission Yojana, aimed at providing tap water to every household.
In 2021, contractors Padmachand Jain and Mahesh Mittal of Shri Shyam Tubewell Company, along with M/s Shri Ganapati Tubewell Company, secured tenders worth crores from the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) using forged experience certificates.
Shri Ganapati Tubewell Company reportedly participated in 68 tenders using fake documents and won 31 contracts worth Rs 859.2 crore.
Similarly, Shri Shyam Tubewell Company took part in 169 tenders, securing Rs 120.25 crore by winning 73 of them.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) first uncovered the scam, leading to the arrest of several government officials.
The ED later launched its own probe, raiding premises linked to Mahesh Joshi, his associate Sanjay Badaya, and others.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a case on May 3, 2024. Subsequently, on May 4, the ED handed over key evidence and documents to the ACB for further action.
ED raided the premises of Congress leader Mahesh Joshi and other locations as part of probe into ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’ as part of the Jal Jeevan Mission.
The agency started its investigation on the basis of a First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Anti Corruption Bureau, Rajasthan.
(IANS)
