ED arrests ex-Raj Congress minister for money laundering

JAIPUR: ED arrested Congress veteran and former Rajasthan minister Mahesh Joshi Thursday after interrogating him for seven hours in a multi-crore money laundering case. Joshi was arrested under Section 19 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act , with investigators saying they had collected substantial evidence, including bank details and documentation of movable and immovable properties in his name.

The investigation is based on an FIR filed by Anti-Corruption Bureau, Jaipur, alleging that Padamchand Jain, owner of Shree Shyam Tubewell Company, and others were involved in bribing public servants to win contracts and cover up suspected irregularities in public health engineering department (PHED) projects during the erstwhile Congress govt's term. Joshi was PHED minister in the Ashok Gehlot govt from Nov 21, 2021, to Dec 3, 2023.

Joshi's arrest follows a SC observation during a bail hearing of one of those already taken into custody in the case. SC asked why the then PHED minister hadn't been made an accused in the case. "My ailing wife is on her deathbed. This is a conspiracy against me. I was arrested based on the statements of people and companies that were blacklisted during my stint as PHED minister," he said.

ED officials said Joshi was questioned about specific bank accounts, properties and tender allocations during his ministerial tenure. PMLA court has remanded him in ED custody for four days.