There was a huge stir in the administrative circles of Rajasthan when the state's senior bureaucrat couple—1993 batch senior IAS officer Shikhar Aggarwal and his wife 1995 batch senior IPS officer Dr Prashakha Mathur—were accused of serious allegations of purchasing 40 luxury villas and cottages from a private resort company and earning huge financial profits. After the entire game of purchasing 40 properties worth Rs 6.16 crore from the same group company within a period of just two and a half years and giving them on lease to the same company on the same day to earn Rs 1.80 crore annually was exposed, the state government has removed both the officers from their posts and put them on 'awaiting posting orders' (APO). Along with this, on the instructions of Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, Rajasthan Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has formally started a detailed investigation of the case under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act. What is the whole story of 40 villas and annual rent of ₹1.80 crore? According to media and initial investigation reports, a total of 40 luxury cottages and villas were purchased from Goyal Fashions Private Limited, a company that operates the resort under the brand 'Ananta' in the name of IAS Shikhar Agarwal, his IPS wife Prashakha Mathur, his two sons and in-laws under the brand 'Ananta': 20 cottages in Udaipur (September 2023): 20 cottages were purchased at Ananta Resort in Bujhra, Udaipur. Each cottage was reportedly registered at a price of only ₹15 lakh. 20 villas in Alwar (March 2026): 20 villas were purchased at Ananta Resort in Ajabgarh, Alwar, which were registered at a price of approximately ₹15 lakh to ₹16.5 lakh per villa. Rates much lower than the market value: According to real estate experts and initial investigation, the actual market price of these luxury villas is being estimated at Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 1.6 crore per villa. It is alleged that the officers used their influence to get properties worth crores registered at throwaway prices. Same Day Lease Back Agreement: A registered lease agreement is entered into with the concerned company on the same day the properties are purchased. Under this, the annual rent of each cottage in Udaipur was fixed at ₹ 4 lakh and the rent of each villa in Alwar was fixed at ₹ 5 lakh. In this way, it was decided that the family would get a fixed rental return of approximately ₹ 1.80 crore every year from 40 villas. 'The day the government concession was received, the registration of 20 villas took place' The most shocking aspect of 'Quid Pro Quo' (benefit in exchange for benefit) has come to light in the preliminary investigation registered by ACB. It is alleged that when Shikhar Aggarwal was posted in policy and regulatory positions like Industries, RIICO, Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board and Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), he got huge concessions in resort construction rules to the concerned private company and got approvals issued without verification of mandatory certificates. The investigating agencies have identified that on March 27, 2026, the same day when the approval for special concessional financial package was issued to the said company from the Industries/Finance Department, the registration of 20 villas in the Ajabgarh resort of Alwar was done in the name of the Agarwal family. Facts hidden in property return: Name registry of mother-in-law, father-in-law and sons. Under All India Services Conduct Rules, every IAS and IPS officer has to submit the details of his immovable property (Immovable Property Return – IPR) to the Central and State Government every year. IAS Shikhar Aggarwal had mentioned only 14 properties in his property return filed in January 2026, while his IPS wife Dr Prashakha Mathur had zero immovable property in her return. The names of the two sons, the IAS officer, his wife and in-laws (Raghuvansh Narayan Mathur and Manjula Mathur) were included in the registries of 40 villas through power of attorney. The ACB is now also deeply investigating whether this case falls under the ambit of disproportionate assets and benami property transactions. Government's strict action: Both officers APO, opposition demands CBI-ED investigation As soon as the matter came to light, Rajasthan government removed Shikhar Aggarwal from the post of Additional Chief Secretary (Industry and MSME) with immediate effect and made him APO after taking disciplinary action against his IPS wife Dr. Prashakha Mathur (ADG, Police Modernization and Welfare). At the same time, this matter has gained great political importance. Opposition leaders, including former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and National Democratic Party (RLP) MP Hanuman Beniwal, have raised the question that the investigation into this multi-crore villa deal and the huge concessional package given to the company should not be limited to the state ACB alone but should be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), so that the entire truth about the money laundering and hawala network involved in this transaction can be revealed. Watch NDTV Rajasthan's video report to see the entire incident, documents of villa purchase and detailed report of ACB investigation. This video presents an analysis of 40 luxury villa deals, lease agreements and key facts of the investigation initiated by ACB related to Rajasthan IAS Shikhar Aggarwal and his IPS wife.
