Rajasthan MLA arrested for allegedly accepting bribe to drop Assembly questions
The Rajasthan Police on Sunday arrested Bharat Adivasi Party MLA Jaikrishn Patel for allegedly accepting Rs 20 lakh as bribe from a mine owner to withdraw questions in the Legislative Assembly about mining leases in Karauli district, The Hindu reported.
Jaikrishn Patel, who represents Banswara district's Bagidora, and an alleged middleman named Vijay Kumar Patel were caught ' red-handed ' at the MLA quarters in Jaipur, The Indian Express quoted Anti-Corruption Bureau Director General Ravi Prakash Meharda as saying.
The mine owner, Ravindra Kumar, had filed a complaint against Jaikrishn Patel on April 4. Kumar alleged that the legislator accused him of illegal mining and pressured him by listing three questions related to mining leases in Karauli district's Todabhim block in the previous session of the Assembly.
'The complainant has mines and the three questions put up by the MLA are also related to mines, even though the complainant's mines are hundreds of kilometres away from the MLA's constituency,' The Indian Express quoted Meharda as saying.
Jaikrishn Patel allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 10 crore from Kumar to drop the questions, The Hindu reported. Two of the questions in the Assembly were starred, which requires an oral answer from a minister during the Question Hour in the Assembly. The third one was unstarred.
'Following the negotiations, the bribe deal was struck at Rs 2 crore, which was to be paid in instalments,' The Hindu quoted Meharda as saying. 'The mine owner paid Rs 1 lakh [to the MLA] in a visit to Banswara.'
On Sunday, Kumar went to the legislator's home to pay the second instalment of Rs 20 lakh on the instructions of the Anti-Corruption Bureau. While Jaikrishn Patel was arrested, his close aide fled with the money.
'A manhunt has been launched to nab the staff member,' The Hindu quoted Meharda as saying. 'The cash could not be recovered, but we have sufficient evidence of the MLA having received the money. We conducted a colour test on his fingers and have audio-visual recording of the incident.'
Meharda said that the legislator was being questioned about his interest in the mining activities in Todabhim.
Following his arrest, Bharat Adivasi Party Rajkumar Roat said that action would be taken if Jaikrishn Patel was found to be guilty.
However, he said that the legislator could also be a 'victim of conspiracy', The Hindu reported.
'It is not clear how the money was offered to him,' The Hindu quoted Roat as saying. 'Rajasthan has witnessed conspiracies against the political parties which challenged the dominance of big players.'
The incident was the first instance of the bureau arresting a legislator in the state, The Indian Express reported.
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