ACB to present Bagidora MLA Jaikrishn Patel in court today, will seek remand

Jaipur, May 5 (IANS) The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) will present Bagidora (Banswara) MLA Jaikrishn Patel of the Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) in court today in connection with a bribery case. The agency is expected to seek his remand as part of its probe into an alleged Rs 20 lakh bribe and related matters.

Patel was arrested on Sunday at his official residence in Jyotinagar, Jaipur. Since then, the ACB has questioned his gunman, driver, cook, and social media staff, all of whom were taken to the ACB office for interrogation.

According to sources, they denied knowledge of the individual who fled with the cash.

The ACB claims the bribe money was allegedly received at the MLA’s official flat on Sunday afternoon. Before officials arrived, someone from Patel’s side reportedly escaped with the Rs 20 lakh.

Search operations at the premises continued late into the night as the agency attempted to identify and locate the person who fled with the money.

Patel is accused of demanding Rs 10 crore to withdraw assembly questions related to the mining department. The final deal was allegedly settled at Rs 2.5 crore.

Sources said the ACB had briefed Assembly Speaker Vasudev Devnani and Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma in advance about the case. The BAP has four MLAs out of 200 in Rajasthan.

According to Ramnivas Meena, father of complainant Ravindra Meena, Patel had approached them two months ago regarding two soapstone mining leases in Gudhachandji Balghat. Patel allegedly warned that Congress MLA Ghanshyam Mahar and others were trying to get the leases cancelled and offered to have the related assembly questions withdrawn in exchange for money.

Ghanshyam Mahar, however, has denied any involvement, accusing the Meena family of politicising the matter for personal vendetta. He pointed out that he had previously defeated Ramnivas Meena in an election.

Notably, complainant Ravindra Meena contested the 2023 Rajasthan Assembly elections from Karauli on a BSP ticket, finishing third with 13,000 votes. His father, Ramnivas Meena -- popularly known as “Pani Wale Baba” in eastern Rajasthan -- contested from Todabhim on a BJP ticket and later joined the party before the elections. He is also known for leading the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project agitation.

--IANS

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