36 Villas, 2 Cities, Rs 5 Crore: Rajasthan IAS-IPS Couple Under Probe

Jaipur: The Rajasthan government has launched a detailed Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) investigation into allegations that senior IAS officer Shikhar Agrawal misused his official position to extend undue benefits to a private hospitality company and acquired multiple resort villas for himself and his family members at prices far below their market value.The investigation will examine the alleged links between Agrawal, who until recently served as Additional Chief Secretary of the Industries Department, and the directors of Goyal Fashions Private Limited, which operates hotels and resorts under the Ananta brand. The allegations include the grant of concessions to the company, relaxations in resort construction conditions, approvals allegedly issued without proper verification of mandatory certificates, and the acquisition of properties in the names of Agrawal and his relatives.The state government's approval follows a preliminary inquiry by the Rajasthan ACB, which examined a media report published by Dainik Bhaskar on October 27, a report received from the Industries Department and information gathered from confidential sources.ACB Director General Govind Gupta said the government had granted prior approval under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, to investigate the allegations against Agrawal, the company's directors and other individuals connected with the matter.According to the preliminary findings cited by the ACB, the officer allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy with the company's directors and used his official position to secure benefits for both himself and the private company, potentially causing substantial financial losses to the state government.The ACB's preliminary investigation centres on Agrawal's conduct during his postings in several senior administrative positions, including District Collector of Udaipur, chairman of the Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board and Additional Chief Secretary of the Industries Department.The ACB is probing whether decisions taken during these assignments helped Goyal Fashions Private Limited obtain benefits that would not otherwise have been available to the company, and whether any of those decisions were connected to the subsequent purchase of resort villas by the officer and his family.Goyal Fashions Private Limited operates resorts and hotels under the Ananta brand, including properties in Bujhda in Udaipur and Ajabgarh in Alwar. Both locations feature in the preliminary inquiry into the acquisition of villas allegedly registered in the names of Agrawal, his wife and other family members.The preliminary inquiry has identified multiple villas at two Ananta-branded resort properties that were allegedly purchased by Agrawal and members of his family.In Bujhda, Udaipur, 20 villas were allegedly purchased in March 2026, with 10 registered in Agrawal's name and another 10 in the name of his wife, Prashakha Mathur, an IPS officer. The reported purchase price was approximately Rs 15 lakh per villa.The transactions would place the reported value of the 20 properties at around Rs 3 crore, based on the stated purchase price of Rs 15 lakh each.A second group of properties under investigation is located at Ananta Resort in Ajabgarh, Alwar. According to information gathered during the preliminary inquiry, eight villas were allegedly purchased in the names of Agrawal and his wife, with four registered in each of their names.Four additional villas were allegedly purchased in the names of their two sons, while another four were registered in the names of Agrawal's parents-in-law.The reported prices for the Ajabgarh properties ranged from approximately Rs 15 lakh to Rs 16.5 lakh per villa. The eight villas allegedly purchased in the names of Agrawal and his wife were reported to have cost Rs 16.5 lakh each, while the four properties registered in the names of their sons were reportedly purchased for around Rs 15 lakh each. The four villas allegedly registered in the names of his parents-in-law were reported to have cost approximately Rs 16.5 lakh each.Taken together, the probe has identified 16 villas at the Ajabgarh property and 20 at Bujhda, bringing the total to 36 villas across the two locations.The reported prices would place the combined value of the 36 properties at approximately Rs 5.52 crore, assuming the stated figures are accurate. According to the ACB, the Finance Department issued a special concessional financial package to Goyal Fashions Private Limited on March 27, 2026. Investigators also found information indicating that 20 villas were registered in the names of Agrawal and his family members on the same date.