Jaipur, May 7 (IANS) The ACB team on Thursday produced former minister Mahesh Joshi before the court, which remanded him to ACB custody until May 11, 2026, officials said.

The Special Investigation Team of the Anti-Corruption Bureau arrested Joshi from his Jaipur residence on Thursday morning in connection with the alleged large-scale corruption uncovered in the Jal Jeevan Mission.

Further investigation into the matter is underway, officials from the Anti-Corruption Bureau said.

According to the investigation, firms M/s Shri Ganpati Tubewell Company (Proprietor: Mahesh Mittal) and M/s Shri Shyam Tubewell Company (Proprietor: Padamchand Jain) allegedly used forged work completion certificates of IRCON International Limited to secure government tenders in Rajasthan.

Investigators allege that the firms acted in collusion with Mahesh Joshi, former Public Health Engineering Department Additional Chief Secretary Subodh Agarwal, senior Public Health Engineering Department officials, contractors, and private individuals, including Sanjay Badaya.

The alleged conspiracy enabled the firms to secure tenders worth nearly Rs 960 crore through fraudulent means.

The Special Investigation Team further alleged that mandatory “Site Visit Certificates” were deliberately incorporated into tender conditions for projects exceeding Rs 50 crore, allegedly to expose bidder identities and facilitate “tender pooling.”

Investigators claim this led to abnormally high premiums of 30–40 per cent being approved by Public Health Engineering Department officials, resulting in alleged corruption linked to tenders collectively valued at nearly Rs 20,000 crore.

So far, eleven accused have already been arrested in the case, including retired Indian Administrative Service officer Subodh Agarwal, senior engineers, financial advisers, and private individuals connected to the Public Health Engineering Department and associated agencies.

The court has also issued permanent arrest warrants against three absconding accused, Mukesh Goyal, Jitendra Sharma, and Sanjeev Gupta, while proceedings are underway to declare them proclaimed offenders.

Meanwhile, five other accused persons have secured protection from arrest from the High Court.

The Special Investigation Team probing the case was constituted under the supervision of Additional Director General Smita Srivastava and Deputy Inspector General of Police Rameshwar Singh.

Officials said detailed interrogation, evidence collection, and technical analysis are continuing as part of the ongoing investigation.

–IANS

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