‘Substantial evidence': ED opposes bail for ex-min Mahesh Joshi in JJM scam
Jaipur: The
Enforcement Directorate
(ED) Tuesday opposed the bail plea of former public health engineering department (PHED) minister Mahesh Joshi, who is currently in jail in connection with the multi-crore Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) scam.
At a hearing in a special court for cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the ED submitted that it had substantial evidence against Joshi, alleging that the proceeds of the crime were funnelled into a company owned by his son. The court will hear the matter on Thursday. On May 27, Joshi's counsel senior advocate Vivek Raj Bajwa had contended in the court that the former minister was not named in the initial FIR lodged by the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) and argued that the ED failed to trace any proceeds of the crime back to him.
Bajwa had argued that Joshi was being falsely implicated due to political rivalry.
In response, ED's lawyer Ajatshatru S Mina Tuesday pointed to the four FIRs filed in the case by various govt investigation agencies, including one each by the Jaipur police and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and two by the ACB. Mina told court that Joshi was named in one of these FIRs, which formed the basis of ED's enforcement case information report (ECIR).
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He elaborated on Joshi's alleged role in facilitating the approval of fraudulent bills for Shree Ganpati Tubewell Co and Shree Shyam Tubewell Co, and claimed he exerted undue influence on PHED officials to secure tenders based on a forged IRCON certificate. The ED further accused Joshi of directly benefiting from the scam's financial gains, which were reportedly invested in his son's company.
Mina alleged that Joshi orchestrated the entire scam through an associate, Sanjay Badaya, and accused the proprietors of both tubewell firms of threatening PHED officials to ensure compliance of their demands, warning them of departmental transfers if they failed to do so. Joshi was arrested on April 24 when he appeared for questioning following a notice from the ED.
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