Jaipur, India, May 6 – A sitting legislator from India’s western state of Rajasthan was arrested on Sunday for allegedly accepting a ₹2 million ($24,000) bribe from a mine owner to withdraw parliamentary questions related to mining leases, state anti-corruption officials said.
Jaikrishn Patel, an MLA from the Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP), was caught red-handed by the Rajasthan Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) at his official residence in Jaipur during a sting operation, officials said.
“This is the first time in Rajasthan that a sitting MLA has been caught red-handed while accepting a bribe,” said Ravi Prakash Meharda, Director General of the ACB. “The MLA had been under our watch since April 4 after a mine owner filed a complaint.”
According to the ACB, Patel initially demanded ₹100 million ($1.2 million) from the complainant, Ravindra Singh, to drop three questions he had submitted to the state assembly concerning mining activity in Todabhim constituency. The bribe amount was later negotiated down to ₹20 million, to be paid in instalments.
The operation to arrest Patel was conducted with prior approval from Rajasthan’s assembly speaker and chief minister. The cash exchanged in the sting was not recovered, as an aide who handled the money reportedly fled upon seeing the ACB team. A manhunt is underway to locate the missing staffer.
Despite the absence of physical cash, Meharda said investigators had “sufficient evidence” including audio-visual recordings and a successful chemical test that showed traces of dye from the bribe money on the MLA’s hands.
Patel, who won a 2024 by-election in the Bagidora constituency with support from the Congress party, was brought to the ACB headquarters in Jaipur for further interrogation. Authorities are also reviewing CCTV footage to trace the aide who escaped.
Patel’s party, the Bharat Adivasi Party, alleged a political conspiracy. “Our MLA is a victim of a larger plot,” said BAP MP Rajkumar Roat. “There are efforts to suppress emerging parties in Rajasthan’s tribal regions.”
The BAP, formed in 2023 as a breakaway from the Bharatiya Tribal Party, has gained traction in tribal constituencies and currently holds four seats in the Rajasthan assembly.
Rajasthan’s Home Minister Jawahar Singh Bedham defended the arrest, citing the government’s zero-tolerance approach to corruption. “There is no distinction between large or small parties when it comes to accountability. Such actions by elected representatives tarnish the image of the state,” he said.
