Jaipur: The Rajasthan government has placed senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Shikhar Agrawal, who was serving as Additional Chief Secretary for Industries, under awaiting posting orders (APO), ANI and IANS reported on Thursday. The order was issued late on Wednesday night by the state's Department of Personnel.

Source: ANI via LatestLY

The official order, signed by Joint Secretary to Government Dheeraj Kumar Singh, said the 1993-batch officer is placed on APO until further orders, citing administrative reasons, ANI reported. Before the order, Agrawal also held charge of Industries, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), State Undertakings and the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, and served as Chairman of RIICO and Chairman and Managing Director of RAJSICO, among other posts.

ANI said the late-night action came after an investigative report by a media organisation alleging large-scale property acquisitions linked to Agrawal and his family. According to that investigation, Agrawal, along with his wife, senior Indian Police Service officer Prashakha Mathur, their two sons and in-laws, allegedly purchased around 40 villas and cottages from a single real estate company within about two and a half years. These are allegations reported by the media; they have not been established by a court.

IANS reported further details attributed to the allegations: the properties comprised 20 villas in Ajabgarh in Alwar district and 20 cottages in Bujra in Udaipur district, the purchases reportedly involved about Rs 6.16 crore, and the properties were subsequently leased back to the same company, at reported annual lease amounts of Rs 5 lakh per villa in Ajabgarh and Rs 4 lakh per cottage in Bujra, generating around Rs 2 crore a year in total.

Source: IANS via hi INDiA

IANS also reported that IPS officer Pankaj Chaudhary has levelled further allegations against Agrawal, including an alleged stake in a resort project near Karjat, and has called for an investigation into the transactions. Those claims are also allegations and have not been established.

The Department of Personnel order places Agrawal on APO until further orders. No court finding on the alleged purchases has been reported.