Former Rajasthan minister Mahesh Joshi skips ED summons in money laundering case

Jaipur: Former Rajasthan minister Mahesh Joshi on Monday skipped the ED summons in a money laundering probe linked to alleged irregularities in the Jal Jeevan Mission.

Joshi, the former public health engineering (PHE) department minister, was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) at its office in Jaipur.

The Congress leader was served a notice on Saturday directing him to appear at the ED office at 10.30 am on Monday. However, Joshi did not appear before the ED citing insufficient time to gather documents.

Joshi said he has sought a time period of 15 days to appear before the ED with all the required documents.

Speaking to reporters at his residence here, he said, "The ED had asked me to appear with certain documents. It was not possible for me to collect all the documents in a short period of time so I have sought time of 15 days." Joshi said no irregularities took place in the tendering process under the Jal Jeevan Mission during his tenure and the allegations against him are baseless.

"The agencies should work without any pressure. It has been three months since the BJP government was formed in Rajasthan. If there was any irregularity, action would have been taken by now," he added.

On January 17, the ED had conducted searches at the premises of Joshi and others as part of the probe linked to the alleged irregularities in the Jal Jeevan Mission. The agency had said it seized Rs 39 lakh "unaccounted" cash after the raids.