Mahesh Joshi remanded to ACB custody till May 11 in ₹20,000 crore Jal Jeevan Mission scam
Former Rajasthan minister Mahesh Joshi was on Thursday, 7 May 2026, produced before a court in Jaipur by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), which remanded him to ACB custody until 11 May 2026, officials said. The arrest, made from his Jaipur residence earlier that morning, is linked to alleged large-scale corruption uncovered in the Jal Jeevan Mission — a flagship Central scheme aimed at providing tap water connections to rural households.
What the Alleged Fraud Involved
According to investigators, two firms — M/s Shri Ganpati Tubewell Company (Proprietor: Mahesh Mittal) and M/s Shri Shyam Tubewell Company (Proprietor: Padamchand Jain) — allegedly used forged work completion certificates of IRCON International Limited to fraudulently secure government tenders in Rajasthan. The ACB alleges the firms acted in collusion with Joshi, former Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) Additional Chief Secretary Subodh Agarwal, senior PHED officials, contractors, and private individuals including Sanjay Badaya.
The alleged conspiracy reportedly enabled the firms to secure tenders worth nearly ₹960 crore through fraudulent means. Investigators further allege that mandatory
