The trail for ex-IAS officer Subodh Agarwal, key accused in Rajasthan’s Jal Jeevan Mission embezzlement saga, stretches across states in a feverish 16-day operation hitting day 16 on March 4. Forty crack teams, helmed by ASPS, DSPs, and Inspectors under DIG-SP vigilance, are orchestrating the statewide sweep.
Over 100 premises in 21 cities—from Jaipur and Kota to Noida, Meerut, and Mumbai—have faced dawn-to-dusk searches. Flashpoints include Jaipur’s upscale extensions, Delhi’s premium pockets, Faridabad sectors, Haryana’s Sohna, and Mumbai’s Juhu hills, probing homes, family farms, luxury flats, and transient stays.
Fifty interrogations target inner circles: kin, buddies, servants, drivers, and hideout providers. Four detained on shelter charges; tech intel from CCTV in major cities decodes the fugitive’s itinerary and allies.
Blown open in June 2023 by Minister Kirodi Lal Meena, the racket ensnares 20 officials and engineers defrauding the water-for-all drive. Joint ACB-ED-CBI raids across Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand bagged 10 arrests post-15 site hits.
This saga grips the nation, spotlighting vulnerabilities in mega infrastructure projects. As teams press on, Agarwal’s capture looms as the linchpin to justice, deterring future scams and safeguarding taxpayer rupees in Rajasthan’s development blueprint.