ACB files chargesheet against MLA, others in cash-for-no-query scandal

Jaipur: Rajasthan Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) filed a chargesheet Wednesday against Jaikrishn Patel , who represents the Bagidora constituency in Banswara district, and three others. They were arrested on May 4 in a first-of-its-kind ‘cash-for-no-query' scandal in the state. ACB has kept the investigation pending against Rohitash Meena, the personal assistant of the MLA, as he is on the run since the trap in which the legislator was allegedly caught accepting a bribe of Rs 20 lakh in the parking lot of the MLA quarters near the state assembly building.

ACB prosecutor Shalini Gautam said the chargesheet has retained the sections of Prevention of Corruption Act under which Patel and others were charged in the FIR filed after the trap operation. The CCTV footage, recording of the incident in which he was caught negotiating with the ACB complainant, philetrapic power, and other forensic evidence have been presented.

According to ACB officials, Rohitash Meena handed over the money to his uncle, Laxman Meena alias Jaswant, who was arrested on May 5. During sustained interrogation, Laxman disclosed that he passed on the cash to an acquaintance, Jagaram Meena. Mistaking the bag for proceeds from a failed land deal, Jagaram buried it in the lawn and poured water over it to cover up the stash.

Patel, 37, a first-time legislator from the Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP), was accused of demanding Rs 2.5 crore from a Karauli-based miner, Ravindra Kumar Meena, the son of BJP leader Ram Niwas Meena, who unsuccessfully contested the 2023 Rajasthan assembly elections from Todabhim. Patel allegedly demanded the bribe in exchange for not raising questions in the state assembly about mining activities in the Todabhim-Karauli belt—located nearly 700 km from his own constituency. The amount was later negotiated down to Rs 2 crore. The ACB has booked five accused in the case under Sections 7 and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Sections 61(2) and 238 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

According to the FIR, the bribe negotiations began on March 22, when Rohit Meena called the complainant to meet at Indira Gandhi Nagar. During the meeting, Meena mentioned "2.5," which the complainant initially believed meant Rs 2.5 lakh. However, Patel later clarified that the demand was actually Rs 2.5 crore.

In the last week of April, the complainant paid Rs 1 lakh to Patel, which helped the ACB verify the complaint and prepare for a trap. On May 4, Patel and another accused, Vicky, reportedly discussed, inspected, and accepted Rs 20 lakh in cash from the complainant at the MLA's official residence. The money was later handed over in the parking area and concealed, a sequence that the FIR says has been prima facie established. ACB stated that Patel abused his public office to obtain illegal gratification, amounting to offences under the amended Prevention of Corruption Act and the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.