Representative image. Rajeshjoshi12, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Why it matters
The case concerns whether one of Rajasthan's most senior officers, who ran the industries department and worked in the Chief Minister's office, used official decisions to help a company his family bought property from. The ACB's inquiry will check whether the state lost money through the concessions it gave.
The Rajasthan government on Saturday, 31 October 2026, removed Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Prashakha Mathur from her post and placed her on awaiting posting orders (APO), a day after it cleared an Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) investigation against her husband, senior Rajasthan IAS officer Shikhar Agrawal. The ACB is looking into how the family came to own dozens of villas at two resorts run by one private company, and whether Agrawal used his position to help that company.
Shikhar Agrawal, a 1993-batch Indian Administrative Service officer, had already been placed on APO earlier in the week. Mathur, a 1995-batch IPS officer, had been serving as Additional Director General of Police in charge of planning, modernisation and welfare. Neither officer has been charged; the ACB probe is at a preliminary stage.
What the ACB alleges against Shikhar Agrawal
According to official information released by the ACB and reported by Hindustan Times, the state government on Friday, 30 October, gave its approval for a detailed investigation under Section 17-A of the Prevention of Corruption Act. That section requires a government’s prior approval before investigators can look into decisions a public servant took while doing their job, Mint explained.
The company at the centre of the case is Goyal Fashions Pvt Ltd, which runs hotels and resorts under the Ananta brand. The ACB alleges that Agrawal colluded with its directors and gave it undue benefits. The benefits it lists are relaxed construction conditions for a resort, approvals granted without proper checks of required certificates, and a special concessional financial package.
ACB Director General Govind Gupta said the villas were bought at prices well below their market value, The Hindu reported. The bureau has registered a preliminary enquiry. Its investigation will examine whether the state lost money, whether Agrawal and his family hold assets larger than their known income, and decisions he took as Udaipur collector, as chairman of the Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board and as an additional chief secretary, according to HT.
Gupta told HT that the bureau acted on a report in the Jaipur edition of a Hindi daily on 27 October, a factual report from the industries department and information from confidential sources.
How many villas: the ACB’s count and the newspaper’s
Two different tallies are in circulation. The ACB’s figures, as HT reported them, are broken down by resort and by name. NewsPlainly added them up.
| Resort | Registered in the name of | Units | Price each (ACB) | Subtotal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bujhda, Udaipur | Shikhar Agrawal | 10 | ₹15 lakh | ₹1.5 crore |
| Bujhda, Udaipur | Prashakha Mathur | 10 | ₹15 lakh | ₹1.5 crore |
| Ajabgarh, Alwar | The couple | 8 | ₹16.5 lakh | ₹1.32 crore |
| Ajabgarh, Alwar | Their two sons | 4 | about ₹15 lakh | about ₹60 lakh |
| Ajabgarh, Alwar | Agrawal’s parents-in-law | 4 | about ₹16.5 lakh | about ₹66 lakh |
| Total in the ACB account | 36 | about ₹5.58 crore | ||
That makes 36 units worth about ₹5.58 crore. The original newspaper report, by Dainik Bhaskar, put the figure at 40 villas and cottages bought for a combined ₹6.165 crore over about two and a half years, Business Today reported. The Hindu and The Indian Express (as cited by Mint) also use 40. The reports read do not explain the gap of four units and about ₹58 lakh.
According to Bhaskar’s report as carried by Business Today, the properties were leased back to the same company: ₹4 lakh a year for each of 20 cottages in Udaipur and ₹5 lakh a year for each of 20 villas in Alwar, or ₹1.80 crore a year in rent in all.
Timeline: from the March package to the Rajasthan IAS officer’s removal
- 27 March 2026: The state finance department gave Goyal Fashions a special concessional financial package. According to the ACB (via HT), Agrawal registered the 20 Udaipur villas in his and his wife’s names the same day. Bhaskar’s report, as carried by Business Today, linked the same-day registration to the Alwar villas instead.
- 27 October: A Hindi daily in Jaipur published the report that the ACB later cited.
- 28 October, late night: The department of personnel placed Agrawal on APO, citing administrative reasons, and relieved him of all his posts, Business Today reported. HT dates his APO to 29 October.
- 30 October: The state approved the ACB’s detailed investigation under Section 17-A.
- 31 October: Mathur was removed from her post, which she had held since 24 October 2025, and placed on APO.
Until the APO order, Agrawal was additional chief secretary for industries and for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), and chaired the state’s industrial development corporation RIICO, the Bureau of Investment Promotion and the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor authority in the state, according to Business Today. Earlier, from February 2024 until November 2025, he was additional chief secretary in the office of Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, The Hindu reported.
What the officers and the Opposition have said
Shikhar Agrawal told Bhaskar that he had submitted complete details of the properties in his returns, and that the department had not updated its records, Business Today reported. Bhaskar had reported that the Alwar properties were missing from his annual property returns. HT said it contacted both Agrawal and Mathur and had not received a reply when it filed its report. The reports read did not include a response from Goyal Fashions.
Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot of the Congress has asked for a probe by central agencies and called the matter the biggest scandal of the BJP government in the state, The Hindu reported. The reports read did not carry a reply from the state government or the BJP to his demand.
What APO and an ACB probe at the preliminary stage mean
Placing an officer on awaiting posting orders relieves them of their current duties until the government assigns a new post. Both orders here cited administrative reasons, according to Business Today and Mint.
The ACB has so far registered a preliminary enquiry, the stage before any formal case. The approval under Section 17-A lets the bureau examine official decisions Agrawal took. No first information report (FIR) against either officer was mentioned in the reports read, and none of the allegations has been tested in court.
Frequently asked questions
Why is Shikhar Agrawal under investigation?
The ACB alleges he gave undue benefits to Goyal Fashions Pvt Ltd, which runs Ananta resorts, while his family bought villas at its resorts in Udaipur and Alwar below market value. He has not been charged.
Why was Prashakha Mathur put on APO?
The Rajasthan government removed her from her post on 31 October, a day after approving the ACB investigation against her husband. Some of the villas were registered in her name, the ACB says.
How many villas did the family buy?
The ACB's figures, as reported by Hindustan Times, add up to 36 units worth about ₹5.58 crore. Dainik Bhaskar reported 40 villas and cottages for ₹6.165 crore.
What is Section 17-A of the Prevention of Corruption Act?
It requires a government's prior approval before investigators look into decisions a public servant took in the course of official duties. Rajasthan gave that approval on 30 October.