JAIPUR: Rajasthan govt has issued show-cause notices to senior IAS officer Shikhar Agrawal and his IPS officer wife, ADG Prashakha Mathur, regarding alleged discrepancies in their immovable property declarations.The notices, which require responses within seven days, are based on charges that the couple and their close family members purchased 40 resort villas from a single company at allegedly below-market rates. The notices were issued by the department of personnel (DoP) on Oct 30, seeking clarification on why properties acquired post-2021 were omitted from the immovable property declarations submitted by the officers.According to the DoP notice, the Agrawals had failed to declare any new immovable properties in their online statements since 2021, even though they submitted communications to the state govt under the All-India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1986, regarding property transactions completed after that date.In a related development, the commissionerate of industries and commerce Monday suspended incentives previously approved for Goyal Fashions Pvt Ltd, the company at the heart of the investigation.The suspension, ordered following intervention from chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, will prevent the company from receiving any investment incentives or concessions until ACB concludes its inquiry into the matter. It has ramped up its preliminary investigation into the alleged irregularities involving Agrawal and Mathur, issuing notices to various govt departments, district administrations, banks and private entities to obtain records related to the couple. This includes a notice served on Sanjay Goyal, managing director of Goyal Fashions Pvt Ltd, which operates the Ananta chain of hotels and resorts.Sources in ACB suggested that the bureau is examining property registration records and other documents concerning the luxury villas acquired by the Agrawals at Ananta resorts. “Various other transactions at the company’s Bujhda resort in Udaipur and Ajabgarh resort in Alwar, including purchases allegedly made at prices substantially below market rates, are being examined,” an ACB source said.The bureau has also reached out to the industries department, requesting minutes from meetings held during Agrawal’s tenure as its additional chief secretary, as well as reports on departmental decisions to ascertain whether any official actions had unduly benefitted Goyal Fashions.Previously, the bureau also sought information from the public works department regarding the construction of villas and cottages at the company’s sites in Udaipur and Alwar, and investigated allegations of relaxed construction conditions and approvals granted to the company without due verification of necessary certificates.ACB initiated its preliminary inquiry against Agrawal on Oct 30 after securing necessary approvals from the state govt under Section 17-A of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Agrawal, a 1993-batch IAS officer, was placed on Awaiting Posting Orders on Oct 28, with similar action against Mathur, a 1995-batch IPS officer, initiated on Oct 31.
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