Jal Jeevan Mission scam: ED seizes gold worth over Rs 6 cr from two officials in Rajasthan government

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has recovered gold worth almost Rs 6 crore from officials in the Rajasthan government in the Centre's Jal Jeevan Mission scam, the agency said on Wednesday.

The central probe agency has recovered gold from Rajasthan Government official OP Vishwakarma and Rajasthan Administrative Services official Amitabh Kaushik in the scam.
“ED has recovered 8 kg of gold valued at Rs 4.84 crore from two lockers of a Rajasthan Government official OP Vishwakarma and 1.5 kg of gold valued at Rs 1.02 crore from the locker of Rajasthan Administrative Services official Amitabh Kaushik,” the agency said.

On September 1, the lockers were seized from separate branches of Punjab National Bank in Jaipur by the ED.
The ED had carried out searches in Jaipur, Alwar, Neemrana, Behror, and Shahpura and seized unaccounted cash amounting to Rs 2.32 Crore, a 1 Kg gold bar worth Rs 64 lakh, and various incriminating documents, including digital evidence, hard disks, and mobile devices on September 1.
The ED's investigation was initiated based on an FIR registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in Rajasthan.

The case involved individuals Padamchand Jain (Proprietor: Shree Shyam Tubewell Company), Mahesh Mittal (Proprietor Shree Ganpati Tubewell Company), and others.
They were suspected of offering bribes to public servants to gain illegal protection, secure tenders, obtain bill approvals, and cover up irregularities related to work executed in various tenders issued by the Public Health and Engineering Department (PHED).