In Rajasthan, Congress leader and former Cabinet Minister Mahesh Joshi was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) this evening in connection with the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) scam. Mr. Joshi was questioned throughout the day at the ED office in Jaipur before being taken into custody. Despite multiple summons, Mr. Joshi had previously avoided appearing before the agency citing personal reasons. Today, he reached 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 Padam Chand 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.
The state 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.