Cash, gold seized after ACB raids against panchayat junior assistant in Rajasthan

Rajasthan Anti-Corruption Bureau on Friday conducted searches at five locations in Bikaner and Phalodi districts in connection with a disproportionate assets case against a junior assistant, officials said. During the searches, officials recovered around Rs 75 lakh in cash from a residential house in Bikaner. More than one kilogram of gold and about two kilograms of silver were also seized from properties in Bikaner. The ACB said the accused owns three houses in Bikaner city, one house in Punarasar village in Bikaner and around 17 hectares of agricultural land. The action was taken against Shubhkaran Parihar, posted as Junior Assistant at Udat Gram Panchayat in Phalodi district, they said. A confidential complaint was received at its headquarters in Jaipur alleging that Parihar had amassed assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. Following verification, it was found that the accused had allegedly acquired assets about 938 per cent higher than his lawful income. A case was subsequently registered, and search warrants were obtained from a court, the officials said. Further investigation into the case is going on, the officials said.