From AEN to mining magnate? ACB probes 27-yr service record

Jaipur: Anti-corruption bureau (ACB) has begun examining the 27-year service record of Public Health Engineering Dept (PHED) superintendent engineer Ashok Jangid, a day after carrying out raids at locations linked to him across six districts. Jangid is facing allegations of amassing disproportionate assets in his and his family members' names. On Monday, ACB teams searched two of his bank lockers in city's Vaishali Nagar area and recovered about 5.6 kg of gold worth about Rs 45 lakh.

Jangid, who joined services as an assistant engineer in 1998 and is due to retire in 2031, spent most of his career posted in Banswara. While he remained stationed in southern Rajasthan for the majority of his service, ACB found he made significant financial investments in and around Jaipur and in his native village, Paota in Kotputli-Behror district.

After recovering documents that revealed five mining leases and ownership of 55 properties spread across several districts, ACB is now delving deeper into the source of wealth linked to Jangid and his family, especially his son Nikhil Jangid. Officials said Nikhil's name figures prominently in the ownership of properties and mining operations, and ACB is likely to question him in connection with the case.

"Nikhil completed his engineering degree from BITS Pilani. Jangid invested a huge amount of money to open mining leases in his name. Nikhil got married two months ago. Jangid's daughter completed her degree in architecture from a prestigious private university in Jaipur recently," said a senior ACB officer.

The father-son duo reportedly bought heavy mining equipment, including crushers, excavators, and blasting tools, worth at least Rs 4 crore. These machines were used to operate mining businesses allegedly run under the names of various family members.

Earlier raids uncovered documents related to five mining leases in Malpura, Paota, Udaipur, and Sarwar, along with ownership of 55 residential and commercial plots, 22 bank accounts holding Rs 21 lakh, and expenses of about Rs 30 lakh on the children's education.

The properties include an under-construction shopping mall in Paota, a three-storey commercial complex in Jaipur, and two farmhouses spread over 40 bighas of land in Paota.

"To uncover the mining leases in the name of his wife and son, we collected records from the mining dept and sub-registrar offices," said DG, ACB Ravi Prakash Meharda.

The investigation is now focused on tracing the flow of money and establishing how public service was allegedly used to accumulate personal wealth over two and a half decades.