Farmers Movement Archive

IPS officer Manish Agarwal suspended by Rajasthan govt; professes innocence

The Rajasthan government suspended IPS officer Manish Agrawal, who was arrested by the state Anti-Corruption Bureau on charges of corruption, as per a government order. The order issued by the department of personnel cited more than 48-hours in police custody as a ground for Agrawal’s suspension.Agrawal, who had taken charge as the commandant of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) in Jaipur last month, was arrested from his office on Tuesday in a case of extortion racket, allegedly run by senior state government officials. Currently, he is in judicial custody.Earlier on January 14, two sub-divisional magistrates (SDMs) Pinky Meena (Bandikui) and Pushkar Mittal (Dausa) and one Neeraj Meena, an alleged middleman employed by Manish Agrawal, were arrested in the same case.During investigation, it was found that the IPS officer was allegedly involved in a bid to extort money from a road construction contractor, in connivance with the SDMs named above and the middleman. The lid was blown off the racket after a complaint was filed against some of the accused officers.Also Read: Repeal farm laws, drop cases filed: Sachin Pilot in RajasthanManish Agarwal’s lawyer has denied all the allegations levelled against him.“Neither my client was caught taking a bribe, nor the agency had any evidence to prove that he demanded a bribe. The so-called middleman Neeraj Meena used to meet him during the lockdown in connection with three instances of robbery,” said Vipul Sharma, Agrawal’s lawyer.

Hindustan Times

06-02-2021

Jaipur