The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has arrested a suspect, Sanjay Badaya, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, for involvement in the Jal Jeevan Mission scam in Rajasthan. Mr. Badaya, the fourth accused arrested in the case, is said to be close to Congress leader and former Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) Minister Mahesh Joshi.
Mr. Badaya, arrested on Tuesday evening after questioning, was produced in the PMLA Special Court here, which sent him to the ED’s custody for four days. The ED officials are interrogating Mr. Badaya to confirm his role as a middleman in what is alleged to be a ₹ 20,000 crore fraud in the implementation of a Union Government scheme to provide tap water to every household.
The ED started an investigation into the case on the basis of a first information report registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau of Rajasthan police, which accused two proprietors of tubewell companies and some others of bribing public servants to get bills sanctioned and cover up irregularities in works executed by them.
The suspects also allegedly used fake and fabricated work experience certificates purported to be issued by IRCON to get contracts from PHED. An ED spokesperson said the agency’s investigation had revealed that Mr. Badaya was in receipt of a bribe from two accused firms to facilitate “favourable treatment” by the department.
“Mr. Badaya was also influencing PHED officials,” the ED spokesperson said. The ED conducted searches at more than 70 premises, leading to the seizure of ₹ 11.03 crore in goods and cash. The haul included gold and silver worth ₹ 6.50 crore.
