Jaipur: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday and arrested Rajasthan's former Water Supplies Minister Mahesh Joshi for his alleged involvement in the Jal Jeevan Mission scam.
Joshi was arrested after a marathon interrogation of eight hours and taken to SMS Hospital for medical examination. he will be produced in a court on Friday. Speaking to mediapersons after his arrest, Joshi said he has faith in the country's judiciary. "I am not involved in the Jal Jeevan Mission case and have not taken money from anyone. The ED has arrested me on the basis of the statements of people against whom I had taken action," he said.
Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot termed Joshi's arrest a political revenge. Gehlot took to social media platform X and wrote that the arrest of former minister is an example of political revenge. "The arrest has been made at a time when his wife is struggling between life and death at a hospital in Jaipur for around 15 days," he said.
भाजपा का एक्सटॉर्शन डिपार्टमेंट बन चुके ED द्वारा पूर्व मंत्री श्री महेश जोशी की गिरफ्तारी राजनीतिक प्रतिशोध का उदाहरण है।
— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) April 24, 2025
यह गिरफ्तारी ऐसे समय पर की गई है जब उनकी पत्नी करीब 15 दिन से जयपुर के एक अस्पताल में बेहोशी की हालत में जिंदगी और मौत के बीच संघर्ष कर रही हैं। उनकी इच्छा…
The scam involves the Central Government's ambitious scheme Jal Jeevan Mission to provide 'tap water to every house'. As per reports, M/S Shriganpati Tubewell Company and M/S Shri Shyam Tubewell Company had obtained tenders by submitting fake certificates of IRCON. Contractors Padmachand Jain and Mahesh Mittal had taken tenders under Jal Jeevan Mission in 2021. Shriganpati Tubewell Company had obtained tenders worth around Rs 859 crore with fake certificates while Shri Shyam Tubewell Company had obtained tenders worth Rs 120.25 crore.
The Anti Corruption Bureau was the first to start investigation in the case. Later, Enforcement Directorate registered a case and conducted a search at the locations of the former minister, his close aide Sanjay Badaya and others. CBI had also registered a case pertaining to the scam.
