ED Raids Continue After Rajasthan Election: Gehlot Loyalist, Former Congress Minister-Linked Premises Searched Over Money Laundering

Contrary to the Congress' allegations that BJP is using Enforcement Directorate (ED) as an 'election tool', the central investigation agency continues its raids after elections in Rajasthan.

The ED searched premises linked to former minister in the Ashok Gehlot cabinet, Mahesh Joshi and some others on Tuesday (16 January) in a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the Jal Jeevan Mission.

Last year, at least two round of raids were conducted in this case. Mahesh Joshi's office also became a subject of scrutiny on 3 November, just three weeks ahead of the Rajasthan election which was held on 25 December.

Observers believe that this might have been a reason that Joshi was denied a ticket from Hawa Mahal. Even then, the Congress couldn't win this seat.

Notably, Joshi was considered a Gehlot loyalist who played a key role in the 2022 defiance against the Congress high command directive to favour the then Rajasthan CM.

Joshi was a minister of the Public Health Engineering (PHE) department and is currently under scrutiny under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), The New Indian Express reported.

The agency had previously asserted that various middlemen and property dealers played a role in assisting officials from the Rajasthan government's PHE department in diverting "illegally earned" funds from the Jal Jeevan Mission.

The investigation revealed the involvement of contractors in obtaining tenders related to Jal Jeevan Mission projects by using purportedly "fake" work completion certificates issued by the Indian Railway Construction International Limited (IRCON). Additionally, the agency alleged that these contractors secured tenders by "bribing" senior PHE department officials.