The Anti-Corruption Bureau has widened its investigation into the departmental rot surrounding the infamous 272-plot scam in Udaipur. Following the formal custody of Additional Superintendent of Police Mukesh Kumar Soni from the Special Operations Group and his alleged middleman Sajjan Singh Jain, alias Tatla, scrutiny has now shifted directly toward subordinate personnel within the investigative wing. Investigative sleuths have identified reader Jaswant Rao as a critical figure whose actions have raised substantial suspicion throughout the unfolding inquiry.
Staffer Disappears Following Departmental Arrests
Inquiry teams established that Jaswant Rao disappeared from official duty immediately after the initial arrests occurred on September 26. His phone has remained continuously powered off, raising red flags regarding his complicity and sudden evasion. Coordinated search teams, working alongside Udaipur district police personnel, have conducted multiple raids at his residential address and several alternative locations where he might be sheltering.
Investigating officers believe that Rao worked in close operational coordination with the arrested ASP, handling sensitive documentation across high-stakes investigations. He directly supervised paper trails, official filings, and case records pertaining to the 272-plot dispute. Authorities believe securing his physical custody will clarify administrative anomalies and expose how departmental records were handled during the ongoing extortion racket.
Missing Gold Ornaments and Withheld Security Recordings
A fresh dimension emerged through formal statements submitted by the primary complainant, Niranjan Mogra. According to his official complaint filed with the bureau, SOG officers who previously detained him took possession of two gold bangles, an expensive gold watch, primary land registry deeds, and a digital video recorder storing local surveillance footage. In a glaring breach of procedural protocol, these items never appeared on the official seizure ledger maintained by the agency.
Mogra alleged that after securing bail and exiting judicial custody, he approached reader Jaswant Rao to retrieve his confiscated belongings, only to be directed upward toward the senior officer. The complainant voiced serious apprehensions that the unrecorded gold jewelry, digital media storage, and title records remain concealed under the personal control of the absconding reader, potentially kept as leverage or illicit spoils.
Headquarters Deploys Senior Sleuth as Remand Extended
Taking note of the severe ramifications involving uniformed personnel, agency leadership dispatched Jaipur headquarters ASP Mahaveer Singh as a dedicated inquiry officer to spearhead the probe. Arriving in Udaipur on Tuesday, Singh conducted an exhaustive audit of relevant case files before subjecting Mukesh Soni and middleman Sajjan Singh to extensive interrogation sessions inside separate inquiry rooms.
On Wednesday, following the expiry of their earlier holding window, both accused individuals were produced before the competent judicial bench. The prosecution argued vigorously that multiple influential figures remain under examination and that critical procedural requirements, such as on-site crime mapping and retrieving surveillance records, are still pending. State counsels also highlighted that the suspended ASP was withholding cooperation during questioning. Despite pushback from defense attorneys, the presiding court acknowledged the gravity of the institutional offenses and extended police remand for another three days.
