ACB to probe Rajasthan IAS and IPS officer couple over property deals
The Rajasthan government has authorised an investigation into Shikhar Agrawal and Prashakha Mathur regarding the purchase of 40 luxury properties.
The Rajasthan government has granted the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) permission to investigate senior IAS officer Shikhar Agrawal and his wife, senior IPS officer Prashakha Mathur. The probe concerns the purchase of 40 luxury properties at two state resorts.
The couple has been placed under Awaiting Posting Orders (APO). The ACB is examining if Agrawal used his official position to provide undue benefits to Goyal Fashions Private Limited, the company operating the resorts.
The investigation involves property transactions worth Rs 6.16 crore. The family allegedly bought 20 cottages in Bujhda, Udaipur, and 20 villas in Ajabgarh, Alwar, from the firm.
These properties were reportedly leased back to the company for an annual rental income of Rs 1.80 crore. This total includes Rs 80 lakh from the Udaipur cottages and Rs 1 crore from the Alwar villas.
The ACB is looking into whether the company received relaxed construction norms, faster clearances, or concessional investment packages during Agrawal's time in the Industries Department and the Pollution Control Board.
Investigators are also scrutinising whether properties were sold below market value and if a special investment package was approved on the same day as villa sale deeds. The agency is checking if the assets, registered to the couple, their sons, and Mathur's parents, were fully disclosed in mandatory returns.