The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is currently conducting searches at the residence of Rajasthan's second-ranking cabinet member, Rajender Singh Yadav, who oversees the portfolios of Higher Education, Planning, State Motor Garage, Home, and Justice in the state government, according to sources.
According to Live Hindustan, these searches commenced at 10 am with the law enforcement officers reaching Kotputli, Jaipur, Bahror and Viratnagar and raiding premises related to Yadav's close ones and relatives.
Yadav is an MLA from Kotputli town in Jaipur and the ongoing searches are connected to a money laundering case related to the midday meal scheme.
NDTV sources suggest that both the ED and the Income Tax Departments could be involved in these searches, which pertain to companies associated with Yadav.
Reportedly, a team of ED officials from Delhi has arrived in Kotputli, and there are several vehicles stationed outside Rajender Singh Yadav's residence. Movement to and from the state minister's residence and office has been restricted.
It's important to note that there has been no official confirmation from the probe agency at this time, and further details are awaited.
Earlier too, Yadav, along with his family, faced raids on 53 properties in Jaipur, Kotputli, Gurugram, and Uttarakhand on 7 September 2022.
It is alleged that the Education Minister awarded contracts for the midday meal scheme in government schools to companies with ties to his relatives, who provided substandard quality items at inflated prices.
In 2018, when these activities were occurring, the legislator was the Managing Director of a food packaging and production company. However, he had denied the allegations after last year's Income Tax raids.
Referring to his family's longstanding experience in the business, Yadav had told reporters last year, "We are clean. Let them investigate. If there is any political bias in the income tax action, that will also come out. Associating names with political funding is wrong. Our job is packaging. We have no connection with the midday meal. We make packets and packages. We are not responsible for what goes into them."
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