Rajasthan Congress leader and former minister Mahesh Joshi was arrested by the state’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in the early hours of 7 May 2026 in connection with the alleged Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) scam. Joshi, who previously served as the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) minister, was detained from his Jaipur residence around 5:30 am. The arrest follows a series of earlier detentions of senior officials, and comes after Joshi’s prior arrest and subsequent bail in a related money laundering case.
According to The Indian Express, the ACB’s investigation revealed that a firm owner allegedly submitted forged completion certificates and a falsified letter of award from Indian Railway Construction International Limited (IRCON) to secure contracts under the Jal Jeevan Mission. These documents were later declared fake by IRCON’s Bengaluru office, leading to the exposure of alleged corruption involving tenders worth approximately ₹960 crore.
As reported by Hindustan Times, ACB Deputy Inspector General Rameshwar Singh stated that Joshi’s arrest was based on “conclusive evidence” of his involvement. The agency alleges that tenders were issued in a manner favouring select companies at inflated rates, violating established norms and causing significant losses to the government exchequer. Joshi is currently being interrogated at the ACB headquarters.
Further details emerged during the ongoing investigation, including the arrest of former IAS officer Subodh Agarwal, who served as Additional Chief Secretary of PHED during Joshi’s tenure. The ACB has also detained at least ten other government engineers and officers, and standing warrants have been issued for three additional accused who remain absconding.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had previously arrested Joshi in April 2025 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, with the Supreme Court granting him bail in December 2025 due to insufficient evidence and slow investigative progress as coverage revealed. The ED’s probe, which began with searches across multiple Rajasthan locations in September 2023, has so far resulted in the seizure of cash and assets valued at over ₹11 crore.
“Joshi was the minister of the PHED when these irregularities took place. After gathering some conclusive evidence regarding his involvement in the scam, a special team of the ACB arrested him from his residence in Jaipur at around 5.30am on Thursday,” said ACB DIG Rameshwar Singh.
In addition to the ACB and ED actions, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered an FIR in May 2024, following a preliminary enquiry that began in August 2023 as details emerged. The FIR named 22 individuals, including Joshi, Agarwal, and private associates, with allegations that bribes amounting to at least 4% of tender values were paid to clear contracts for private firms.
Analysis showed that the accused officials allegedly forced junior engineers to ensure favourable reports for certain firms during the tender verification process, indicating a pattern of favouritism and manipulation in the awarding of contracts according to findings. The ED’s preliminary findings also indicated that fake documents were used to secure 104 tenders worth nearly ₹980 crore between 2021 and 2023.
“In the tenders, Padamchand Jain and Mahesh Mittal had paid 4% of the tender amount upfront as bribe to both ACS, and Sanjay Badhaya (for PHED minister Mahesh Joshi),” the ED report stated.
Following reports, the ACB continues to pursue absconding accused and is coordinating with other agencies to recover further evidence and assets linked to the alleged scam in the ongoing probe. The investigation remains active, with authorities expected to release additional information as interrogations and searches progress.
Note: This article is produced using AI-assisted tools and is based on publicly available information. It has been reviewed by The Quint's editorial team before publishing.