Seeds corpn director, five others sent to ACB custody in ₹2.5 crore bribery case

Jaipur: A special Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) court in Bikaner Monday remanded Rajasthan State Seeds Corporation nominated director Jugal Kishore Bishnoi and five other accused to ACB custody till June 12 in connection with an alleged Rs. 2.5 crore bribery case linked to a seed company facing regulatory action.

The ACB arrested Bishnoi Sunday night along with Swatanra Bishnoi, Ganpat Ram Bishnoi, Kiran Kapadia, Sunil Sethia and Satpal after recovering a substantial portion of the alleged bribe amount. The ACB maintained that the money was paid to influence official proceedings against a seed company whose stock came under scrutiny during a govt inspection.

According to ACB officials, the company owned by Kiran Kapadia was facing action after authorities raided its warehouse, collected samples of its Gajraj-brand groundnut seeds for testing, halted sales and sealed the premises. The bureau later received a complaint alleging that efforts were being made to settle the matter through bribery.

“The accused accepted Rs. 2.5 crore to facilitate the return of the suspected fake groundnut seed stock to Gujarat and ensure that no punitive action was taken against the company. The money was also allegedly intended to secure favourable treatment, including clearance of seed samples and resumption of seed sales,” said an officer.

During the operation, the ACB recovered around Rs. 2.44 crore of the alleged bribe amount. Officials said Rs. 85 lakh was seized from Swatanra Bishnoi, nephew of Jugal Kishore Bishnoi, while he was travelling in a private bus. The cash was allegedly being transported on the instructions of the Seeds Corporation director.

Subsequent searches at Jugal Kishore Bishnoi’s residence on Jaipur Road in Bikaner led to the recovery of another Rs. 1.58 crore in cash. The case stems from a high-profile raid conducted last month by agriculture minister Kirori Lal Meena and a team of officials on the seed company’s premises.

The ACB is now probing whether any other officials, public servants or intermediaries were involved in the alleged conspiracy to influence regulatory action and suppress proceedings against the company. “We will dig deeper into it and will proceed legally against anyone who is part of this corruption nexus. It is too early to pinpoint or single out any public servant in this matter,” said a senior officer.