Rajasthan: Ex-minister Mahesh Joshi granted 3-day interim bail to attend wife's death rituals

Jaipur, May 2 (IANS) Former Rajasthan minister and Congress leader Mahesh Joshi, an accused in the Rs 900 crore Jal Jeevan Mission scam case, has been granted interim bail for three days to carry out rituals post his wife's demise.

He has been granted interim bail from May 8 to 10.

However, before May 8, he will have to stay in jail for 6 days (May 2 to May 7).

He has been asked to surrender by 8 a.m. on May 11.

Judge Khagendra Kumar Sharma of the special court for ED cases has granted interim bail.

On Thursday, 9 days' interim bail was sought on behalf of Mahesh Joshi. After completing the hearing on this, the court had reserved the decision.

Mahesh Joshi's lawyer Deepak Chauhan had argued that Joshi has to perform the rituals related to the death of his wife.

In this hour of grief, a large number of people are reaching his house. In such a situation, it is important for Mahesh Joshi to be present.

At the same time, other rituals before the 13th day of his wife and on that day must be performed by Mahesh Joshi only.

In such a situation, he should be given 9 more days of interim bail.

On the other hand, Mahesh Joshi reached Jaipur Central Jail on Thursday evening after the expiry of his interim bail. He spent the night in jail.

He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on April 24.

On Monday, after his remand ended, the court sent him to 14-day judicial custody.

On April 28, the court granted Mahesh Joshi 4 days' interim bail after his wife's death.

A bail petition was filed in the court on behalf of Mahesh Joshi on Thursday.

Mahesh Joshi’s wife, Kaushal Joshi, passed away on Monday morning in Jaipur. She had been undergoing treatment at Manipal Hospital.

The ED has so far arrested Piyush Jain, Padam Chand Jain, Mahesh Mittal, and Sanjay Badaya in connection with the Jal Jeevan Mission scam.

The case pertains to alleged irregularities in the Jal Jeevan Mission, a Central Government scheme aimed at providing tap water to every rural household.

Under the Rural Drinking Water Scheme, expenses were to be equally shared by the Centre and the state government.

However, instead of using the mandated ductile iron (DI) pipes, inferior HDPE pipes were laid. Contractors allegedly misappropriated funds by falsely claiming new pipelines had been installed, while in many cases, either old pipelines were reused or none were laid at all.

Widespread irregularities have been reported. Despite large financial claims, many rural areas still lack water pipelines, pointing to large-scale corruption involving contractors and water department officials.

There were also allegations of stolen materials being used. Contractor Padam Chand Jain reportedly sourced stolen pipes from Haryana, passing them off as new installations and siphoning off crores of rupees.

Sources said that companies like Shyam Tubewell Company and Shri Ganapati Tubewell Company secured tenders worth hundreds of crores by submitting fake experience certificates, allegedly with the knowledge and support of complicit officials and political connections.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) initially uncovered the scam, arresting several officials. Subsequently, the ED registered a case and conducted raids on the residences of Mahesh Joshi, his associate Sanjay Badaya, and others.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered its own case on May 3, 2024, and the ED handed over its findings to the ACB on May 4.

--IANS

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