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Rajasthan ACB Arrests Ex-PHED Minister Mahesh Joshi in Jal Jeevan Mission Tender Probe

The move signals the inquiry’s advance from routine bribery traps to alleged high-value bid rigging.

Overview

  • Mahesh Joshi, who led the Public Health Engineering Department, was detained in Jaipur early Thursday around 5:30 am as the ACB said it had conclusive evidence of his role.
  • Investigators allege contractors used forged IRCON completion certificates to secure Jal Jeevan Mission water-supply tenders worth about Rs 960 crore, a program meant to provide household tap connections.
  • The Enforcement Directorate earlier reported that intermediaries and senior officials took about 4% of tender values as bribes, and the ACB in April arrested former additional chief secretary Subodh Agrawal in the same case.
  • After Thursday’s arrest, Joshi was taken to the ACB headquarters for questioning and was later remanded to police custody until May 11, according to court proceedings reported the same day.
  • The latest action comes during a wider ACB drive that this week trapped an ASI in Dungarpur, a PWD engineer and two contractors in Bhilwara, a patwari in Kotputli-Behror, and a Baran agriculture official for alleged bribe demands.