ACB’s lookout notice against retd IAS officer Agarwal in JJM scam

Jaipur: Trouble is escalating for former IAS officer Subodh Agarwal as the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has issued a Look Out Circular (LOC) against him in connection with the alleged Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) scam.ACB Director General Govind Gupta confirmed Wednesday that the LOC was issued against Agarwal, a 1988-batch officer who retired on Dec 31, 2025.
The LOC is an alert mechanism to prevent individuals from leaving the country, particularly if they are under investigation. While it does not serve as an arrest warrant, it is a measure to ensure that an accused individual does not flee while a case remains active. The LOC has now been circulated to airports and border checkposts, which means that if Agarwal attempts to travel abroad, authorities are authorised to stop him and inform the relevant investigative agencies. The ACB's action comes just a day after it arrested nine officials from the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED), which included six serving senior officers and three retired engineers. This follows a series of coordinated raids conducted across Rajasthan and New Delhi tied to the same corruption case. During these operations, ACB teams reached Agarwal's residence but were unable to locate him, leading them to request the issuance of the LOC. Agarwal retired as chairman and managing director of the Rajasthan Financial Corporation and earlier served as the additional chief secretary of PHED. The scrutiny around him intensified after, just before his retirement in Dec of last year, the state govt approved an extensive investigation into the alleged scam. Subsequently, the ACB formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter. Over the course of nearly two months, the SIT examined related documents and conducted a technical analysis prior to executing the simultaneous raids Tuesday. The ACB alleged that irregularities in awarding tenders under the central government's Jal Jeevan Mission—an initiative aimed at providing tap water connections in rural areas—were extensive. Investigators claim that companies, including Ganpati Tubewell Company and Shyam Tubewell Company, submitted forged work completion certificates to secure contracts valued at nearly Rs 960 crore. Moreover, the bureau accused senior PHED officials of conspiring with these entities, modifying tender conditions improperly, and violating norms, such as inserting a mandatory site visit requirement for projects exceeding Rs 50 crore. These actions allegedly exposed identities of bidders and facilitated collusion, resulting in inflated premiums that were ultimately approved by department officials.