CBI, ED must probe graft claims against IAS officer: Gehlot
Jaipur, Oct. 31 -- Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday demanded a CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe into allegations surrounding senior IAS officer Shikhar Agrawal and his family's purchase of 40 villas and cottages, calling it the biggest fraud to have surfaced in the nearly three years of the Bhajan Lal Sharma government.
Questioning the decision to place Agrawal on awaiting posting orders (APO), Gehlot said the chief minister should take responsibility for the allegations involving his office and a senior bureaucrat who served as his additional chief secretary (ACS). "The IAS cadre's controlling authority is the Centre, and the government should hand over the investigation to the CBI and ED. Only then will the truth come out," Gehlot said.
The former CM alleged that decisions by Agrawal in his capacities as the chief minister's ACS and Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board chairman raised serious questions about the functioning of the government. He also alleged that a company had been granted concessions after a meeting chaired by the CM. "If such decisions were taken despite clear concerns, one can imagine what might be happening in the CMO," he said.
Gehlot also made allegations about an alleged altercation involving the CM , his family members and a CMO official. He also alleged widespread corruption in the Udaipur Development Authority (UDA). Gehlot said Agrawal and his wife, who he claimed were currently abroad, should return immediately and publicly clarify their position.
BJP's Ram Lal Sharma said an administrator did not belong to any government, adding that Agrawal had served under both the Congress and BJP regimes....
To read the full article or to get the complete feed from this publication, please
Contact Us.