Rajasthan IAS and IPS couple accused of illegal deals involving 40 properties

Senior Rajasthan IAS officer Shikhar Agarwal and his wife IPS officer Dr. Prashakha Mathur have faced serious allegations of purchasing 40 villas and cottages at Ananta Resorts in Udaipur and Alwar. According to a BBC Gujarati report, these properties were allegedly purchased from Goyal Fashions Private Limited, which operates the resort. It is alleged that despite being in government positions, they provided undue benefits to this company in violation of rules.

Given the seriousness of the matter, the Rajasthan government has handed over the responsibility of investigation to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB). On 28 October, both officers were removed from their posts and are currently on 'awaiting posting order' (APO), meaning they are waiting for new postings. On 30 October, the government permitted an investigation into the corruption allegations against Shikhar Agarwal, following which the ACB registered a case and began the investigation on 31 October. On 2 November, the state government also imposed a ban on government concessions being provided to Goyal Fashions Private Limited.

ACB Director General Govind Gupta stated in a press note that this deal includes 20 cottages of the resort located at Buzda in Udaipur district and 20 villas of the resort located at Ajabgarh in Alwar district. According to media reports, 20 cottages were purchased in the Udaipur resort in September 2023, and Shikhar Agarwal and Prashakha Mathur are alleged to have purchased these cottages for ten lakh rupees each.

The ACB press note stated that the purchase of 20 villas of the Alwar resort was made in March 2026. Among these villas, eight villas were purchased in the names of the husband and wife, two villas in the name of their son, and another two villas in the names of Prashakha Mathur's parents. The price of one villa is reported to be between approximately 15 lakh to saade 16 lakh rupees. According to media reports, the total purchase of all these 40 properties was made for ₹6.16 crore.

The most important aspect associated with this purchase is that the same company from whom these 40 properties were purchased was subsequently given these properties on lease. According to media reports, the annual rent for each cottage in Udaipur is ₹4 lakh and the annual rent for each villa in Alwar is ₹5 lakh. According to a Dainik Bhaskar report, an annual rent of ₹80 lakh is being received from 20 cottages and ₹1 crore from 20 villas, stating that a total annual rent of ₹1.80 crore is being received through these properties. In this way, the annual rent amounts to almost 29 percent compared to the amount spent on the purchase of the properties. This process has raised questions as to why the company leased back its own properties after selling them to the officers' family, and what was the actual market value of the properties at the time of these deals?

According to the ACB, Shikhar Agarwal, in collusion with the directors of Goyal Fashions who held various positions, provided undue benefits to the company. He faces allegations such as securing alleged concessions in terms related to the construction of the resort, granting approvals without verifying necessary certificates, and securing special financial packages for the company. The ACB believes that this is likely to cause financial loss to the state government.

Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has termed this matter a major corruption case that emerged during the Bhajanlal Sharma government's tenure and has demanded that the investigation be conducted by the CBI and ED. Currently, Shikhar Agarwal and his wife are in America. BBC News attempted to contact them and Ananta Resort via telephone, but no conversation could be established with them.

Shikhar Agarwal has previously served as Additional Chief Secretary in the office of Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma.