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In a significant administrative development, the Rajasthan government has placed senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Shikhar Agrawal, who was serving as Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) for Industries, under 'Awaiting Posting Orders' (APO) amid a brewing controversy surrounding alleged large-scale property acquisitions linked to him and his family.
The order, issued late Wednesday night by the states Department of Personnel (DoP), stated that the 1993-batch IAS officer has been put on APO till further orders, citing "administrative reasons." Before being placed on APO, Agrawal held multiple key administrative positions, including Additional Chief Secretary, Industries, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), State Undertakings, Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), and Officer on Special Duty (OSD) at Bhiwadi Integrated Development Authority. He was also serving as ACS for Investment, Non-Resident Rajasthani Affairs (NORA), the Bureau of Investment Promotion (BIP), as well as Chairman of RIICO and Chairman & Managing Director of RAJSICO. "Shri Shikhar Agrawal (1993), IAS... is placed under awaiting posting orders (APO) until further orders due to administrative reasons," read the official order signed by Joint Secretary to Government, Dheeraj Kumar Singh. The state government's late-night action reportedly comes in the wake of an investigative report by a media organisation alleging massive property acquisitions linked to the senior bureaucrat and his family members. According to the media investigation, Agrawal, along with his wife, senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Prashakha Mathur, their two sons, and in-laws, allegedly purchased around 40 villas and cottages from a single real estate company within a span of two and a half years. Following public scrutiny over the revelations, the state government moved swiftly to relieve the senior IAS officer of his extensive portfolio charges pending further administrative review. (ANI)
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