BAP MLA Jaikrishn Patel sent to jail in 'cash-for-no-query' scandal

Jaipur: Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP) MLA Jaikrishn Patel, who represents the Bagidora assembly constituency in Banswara, was sent to jail Wednesday after an Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) court ordered his judicial custody in the ‘cash-for-no-query' scandal.

The court also sent Patel's cousin, Vijay Patel, to judicial custody. After his arrest Sunday, the legislator spent his first night in jail.

In the same case, the ACB was granted a two-day remand for two other accused—Jaswant alias Laxman Meena and Jagaram—who allegedly collected the bribe money from Patel's personal assistant, Rohit Meena, and helped conceal it. The ACB sought a four-day remand for all four men, but the court allowed only two days for Jaswant and Jagaram.

All four were produced in court Wednesday where ACB officials told the court that Jaikrishn's mobile phone contains key evidence and that further questioning is necessary based on the data retrieved from the device. The ACB said Vijay Patel has important information about the bribery deal, and both he and Jaikrishn need to be questioned together to clarify their roles in the matter.

Meanwhile, Jaswant and Jagaram are being questioned about how the money was routed to them and the exact timeline of events, particularly their connection with Rohit Meena. An inspection of the bag said to contain the Rs 20 lakh bribe money revealed that Rs 83,000 was missing. The ACB is now trying to determine when and where the cash disappeared.

Jagaram and Jaswant, who are now in custody, have claimed the bag was untouched when they received it. However, the bureau believes the money could have been removed at the MLA's residence, by Rohit Meena while transporting it, or by either Jaswant or Jagaram, in whose house the cash was eventually hidden.

The ACB continues to search for Rohit Meena, who is on the run with the bribe money. Raids have been carried out at his home and other suspected locations, but he remains untraceable.