The Rajasthan Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Sunday arrested Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) legislator Jaikrishn Patel for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 20 lakh in exchange for withdrawing questions he had submitted in the state Assembly, officials said. Patel, a first-time MLA from Bagidora (ST) in Banswara district, was caught at the MLA quarters in Jaipur’s Jyoti Nagar area. The ACB said this is the first time a sitting MLA has been arrested by the agency in a bribery case.
ACB Director General Ravi Prakash Meharda said Patel had allegedly demanded Rs 10 crore from a complainant, whose mines were the subject of the Assembly questions, but the deal was settled at Rs 2.5 crore. During the verification stage, the complainant had already paid Rs 1 lakh in Banswara.
On Sunday, the ACB laid a trap and nabbed Patel after he received Rs 20 lakh in cash from the complainant. The MLA reportedly handed over the bag of cash to an associate who fled the spot. “We are questioning Patel to identify and locate the man who ran away with the cash,” Meharda said, adding that the bureau has audio and video evidence of the bribe deal.
Speaker informed before arrest, says ACB
The trap was laid only after securing permission from the Rajasthan Assembly Speaker, the DG added. The complainant, whose mines are located outside Bagidora constituency, had earlier submitted three questions that Patel picked up. “The MLA insisted on receiving the money in Banswara, but the complainant convinced him to come to Jaipur,” the DG said.
According to the ACB, the MLA was recorded checking the cash before handing the bag to his aide. Once the signal was given, ACB officials swooped in and arrested Patel. His associate managed to escape with the money before the arrest.
BAP says will act if role confirmed
Bharat Adivasi Party convener and Banswara MP Rajkumar Roat said the party was looking into the matter. “It would be premature to comment. This could be a conspiracy by the BJP government. But if Jaikrishn Patel’s involvement is established, the party will take suitable action,” Roat told reporters.
The BAP has four MLAs in the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly. Patel was elected in a bypoll after former Congress MLA Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya vacated the Bagidora seat to join the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
(With PTI inputs)