The Rajasthan government has placed senior IAS officer Shikar Agrawal (1993 batch) and his wife Prashakha Mathur, a 1995 IPS officer, under Awaiting Posting Orders (APO) until further directions following allegations of massive accumulation of immovable property, including revelations that their annual property statement submitted to the government had only partially reported the purchase of 40 villas at the Ananta resorts in Ajabgarh and Udaipur.Some of these villas were allegedly purchased in the name of their two sons and parents. The villas were allegedly bought at highly undervalued rates against very high annual returns by way of their lease back to the same resorts company, thus raising suspicion of money-laundering and corruption.So far, a preliminary inquiry has been registered with the state’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) even as the social media frenzy on the development questions if the case shouldn’t involve the Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate.The reported purchase prices—between Rs 14 lakh and Rs 16.5 lakh per unit—appear low given the resort’s branding.
The Agrawal family allegedly invested Rs 6.15 crore and leased the properties back for an annual return of Rs 1.8 crore, with increases offered every year. Most of the Udaipur agreements were signed between 2019 and 2023.
Agrawal has said the investments were disclosed in income-tax returns and property statements. Officials close to him described the reports as a conspiracy to damage his prospects of becoming chief secretary before retirement in 2030 and insist that the properties were declared at rates close to the government’s reserved prices, known as DLC (district level committee) rates.Ananta’s business model includes buying cottages and villas from the brand and leasing them back.
However, the alleged returns to Agrawal’s family have raised questions. The registration of 20 Ajabgarh properties in March 2026—sold by Goyal Fashions Pvt Ltd, reportedly Ananta’s parent company—coincided with a finance department order granting substantial concessions.Until being placed on APO on October 28, Agrawal was additional chief secretary for industries and chairperson of the Rajasthan Industrial Development and Investment Corporation Limited (RIICO).
He helped implement investment promises made at the Rising Rajasthan Summit in December 2024.The March 2026 concessions followed a February 14 Board of Investment meeting chaired by chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma. Its members included Agrawal himself, industry and commerce minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, chief secretary V.
Srinivas, additional chief secretary to the chief minister Akhil Arora, principal secretary (finance) Vaibhav Galriya and Suresh Ola, who is now RIICO’s managing director.This has raised questions such as whether Agrawal alone advanced the Ajabgarh concessions, whether the decision was made fairly and whether concessions to many more projects linked to Rising Rajasthan Summit promises and memorandums of understanding should be reviewed.Investigators may also examine whether there was any quid pro quo or whether the investment involved money obtained elsewhere. Sanjay Goyal, managing director of Goyal Fashions, said the concessions were granted before the latest sale deed, that the properties were sold at market value and that lease payments depended on profits and losses.
Moreover, Agrawal and his kin had purchased villas and cottages in the past too, according to him.Agrawal’s removal was ordered by chief minister Sharma. Agrawal, back in 2016, had made headlines as Jaipur development commissioner when he ordered the gates of Rajmahal Palace, a property owned by the Jaipur royal family, sealed.
Princess Diya Kumari, then a BJP MLA, was among those involved in the dispute. Agrawal was subsequently removed from the post and the property gates unlocked.Under the subsequent Congress government led by Ashok Gehlot, Agrawal spent more than three years in less prominent roles before being assigned the forest department.
As the BJP government led by Sharma took over, he was appointed additional chief secretary to the chief minister in February 2024.Agrawal’s appointment had then surprised many familiar with his style of work, seen as too aggressive. Diya Kumari’s associates have in the past accused Agrawal of trying to create a rift between her and chief minister Sharma as also between her and Vasundhara Raje.Agrawal became a powerful official and on occasions had clashes with chief secretary Sudhansh Pant, who had been appointed by the Centre and later returned there.The Sharma government’s move against Agrawal also coincided with news reports and social media furore over alleged high-level bureaucratic corruption.
On his decision, the chief minister told INDIA TODAY: “I shall not spare anyone indulging in wrongdoing.”Social media users are now openly naming IAS and IPS officers and politicians for allegedly amassing wealth beyond known sources of income. Further action on these, if any, would depend on the chief minister and central agencies.
In recent years, Ashok Singhvi, who headed the mines department during the Raje government, and Subodh Agarwal, who recently retired as additional chief secretary before heading the public health engineering department (PHED) and thus the Jal Jeevan Mission, have been jailed over corruption allegations. Meanwhile, Shikhar Agrawal’s case has only amplified long-heldpublic opinions about the dark side of bureaucracy.Subscribe to India Today Magazine- Ends