Rajasthan: ACB registers FIR against former Cong minister in connection to Jal Jeevan Mission scam
Nov 06, 2024
Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], November 6 : Rajasthan Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) registered a case against former minister Mahesh Joshi, and 21 others in connection to an alleged Jal Jeevan Mission scam in the state.
State's former minister Joshi said on Tuesday that the "truth should be brought forward" and he does not oppose any investigation agency.
"Even I got to know about this FIR against me and 21 other people through the media, I have not seen the FIR yet. But I do want to say this much, I have never opposed any investigation agency. The investigation agency should investigate fairly. The truth should be brought forward in front of the public and the truth will be enough to prove my innocence, that I do not have any involvement regarding any corruption scandal," Mahesh Joshi told ANI.
Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Balmukund Acharya hit out at the previous Congress government regarding the alleged scam, claiming that the money for the Jal Jeevan mission was provided, but it was not spent on giving tap water to the people, and only spent on papers.
"There was a huge scam in Jal Jeevan Mission during the previous Congress government in the state. The money given by the central government to provide tap water to every house was not spent on the ground, it was spent only on papers...The investigation is going on," the BJP MLA told ANI.
Earlier in July, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) arrested Sanjay Badaya, a alleged middle man in the probe of money laundering linked to the implementation of the Centre's Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) scheme in Rajasthan.
ED's Jaipur Zonal office-based unit arrested Badaya following his questioning, as his role was established during the probe as a middleman in the Rs 20,000 crore JJM scam.
The ED, conducting its investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), had carried out numerous raids in Jaipur, including at the residence of an IAS officer.
On June 19, this year, the federal agency arrested the third accused, Mahesh Mittal, a contractor linked to the case. Mittal, proprietor of Shri Ganpati Tubewell Company, was also arrested following further leads into the case.
