Authorities across India are ramping up efforts to nab former IAS officer Subodh Agarwal, who’s vanished amid the burgeoning Jal Jeevan Mission graft case in Rajasthan. The 16-day special drive, active since February 17 and ongoing as of March 4, features 40 elite search units led by senior cops and monitored by DIGs and SPs for swift execution.
Sweeping operations covered 100+ locations in 21 cities—from Rajasthan hubs like Jaipur, Udaipur, and Jodhpur to metros including Delhi, Chandigarh, and Mumbai. Elite raids targeted luxury areas: C-Scheme in Jaipur, Defence Colony in Delhi, Sector-39 Faridabad, Sohna, Malabar Hill, and Juhu in Mumbai.
Intensive checks at suspects’ dwellings, relatives’ holdings, farmhouses, hotels, and dubious spots have yielded interrogations of 50 people, encompassing close aides, staff, and potential shelters. Four more held for aiding evasion; meanwhile, CCTV from five cities and digital forensics aim to pinpoint movements.
Surfacing in June 2023 via Agriculture Minister Kirodi Lal Meena’s expose, the scandal ropes in nearly 20 bureaucrats and engineers looting the rural water mission. ACB-ED-CBI teamwork struck 15 sites in Delhi, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand, arresting 10, including a Bilaspur catch.
The manhunt’s scale signals zero tolerance for corruption in essential services. Agarwal’s apprehension could unlock deeper layers of the fraud, bolstering public trust and exemplifying robust enforcement against white-collar crime.