The strange case of a Rajasthan IAS officer and his IPS wife

• IAS-IPS couple accused of buying 44 villas in a year or so in Udaipur and Alwar. Each villa is valued at Rs 1 crore or more but the duo paid a paltry Rs 6.15 crore for all 44 

• The couple allegedly leased the villas back to the seller on the same day, ensuring a handsome rental income from the properties

• The duo are allegedly friends with promoters of the Jaipur-based company engaged in hospitality and real estate  

Mounting pressure has forced the Rajasthan government to place both husband and wife — senior IAS officer Shikhar Agarwal and IPS officer Prashakha Mathur — on a panel awaiting postings. For a serving couple to be kept on awaiting posting orders (APO) at the same time is rare. An APO for officers in the ranks of additional chief secretary and additional director-general of police rarer still.

Allegations against both officers have been referred to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) for investigation. Congress leaders Ashok Gehlot, Govind Dotasra and Tika Ram Jully have demanded that the case be handed over to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

While Agarwal is in the United States and could not be contacted for his version, a section of the media in Jaipur claimed to have been briefed by him that he and his wife had declared their property details and transactions in their income tax returns and other statutory disclosures. They reportedly denied any wrongdoing or corruption on their part.

The ACB has opened an investigation into allegations that Agarwal, while holding senior government posts, may have extended undue benefits to a private company that operates resort properties. These alleged benefits reportedly included relaxations in approvals and concessional government packages. Investigators are examining the purchase of 40 villas and cottages in Udaipur and Alwar by Agarwal, Mathur, their sons and other family members from the same company.

Reports allege that the properties were bought for about Rs 6.16 crore and then leased back to the same company, generating substantial annual rental income. The ACB alleges there is prima facie evidence suggesting possible collusion between the officer and the company, and is investigating whether his official position or influence was misused. The investigation is still at a preliminary stage.

A report in the Indian Express alleged that the villas were purchased at prices 'substantially below market value'. It specifically cited alleged purchases of villas in Bujhda (Udaipur) and Ajabgarh (Alwar) in the names of the couple, their sons and parents-in-law.

The New Indian Express reported that the annual rental income from the leasebacks was around Rs 1.80 crore. Business Today and Dainik Bhaskar reported Agarwal's claim that disclosures had been filed by him, but departmental records had not been updated.

The central allegation is that Agarwal used his office to help a resort company while he, Mathur and their relatives acquired resort villas from entities connected to the company on unusually favourable terms and at prices allegedly far below market rates. The ACB will probe the reasons for the alleged underpricing of the cottages and villas sold to the bureaucrat and his IPS wife by Jaipur-based company Goyal Fashions, which is engaged in the textile, garment and hospitality businesses.

Newspapers in Rajasthan have published unsubstantiated allegations that Agarwal had been favouring the company for several years. The number of villas bought by the Agarwal family has been reported as 40.

Agarwal is alleged to have allowed clearances, approvals, exemptions, incentives and subsidies to favour his old friend Mukund Goyal, as chairman of the Rajasthan Industrial Investment Corporation (RIICO) and the Bureau of Industrial Promotion. The incentives were reportedly offered following an assurance from Goyal Fashions that it would invest Rs 115 crore in various projects and employ 225 people.

Media reports in Rajasthan claim that Agarwal and his wife bought 28 villas and cottages in their own names. However, while Agarwal declared 14 properties in his immovable property return (IPR) — a mandatory disclosure submitted by officers —his wife reportedly did not disclose the purchase of any property in her IPR.

In Bujhda, the couple are said to have bought villas at Ananta, a resort owned by Goyal Fashions, for Rs 15 lakh each, and villas in Ajabgarh for Rs 16.50 lakh each. The market price of each villa is reportedly Rs 1.6 crore.

What is said to have caused Agarwal's undoing was that he bought the properties and concluded the lease agreements with the seller on the same day. The sale deeds and lease deeds are reportedly dated the same day.