The Rajasthan Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) dismantled a ₹2 crore extortion racket on Sunday, arresting Special Operations Group (SOG) Additional Superintendent of Police Mukesh Kumar Soni. The operation began when agents trapped alleged middleman Sajjan Kumar in the act of accepting cash, purportedly on Soni’s behalf, to secure a closure report in the Udaipur Municipal Corporation’s 272-plot scam case and release seized goods.
Soni, posted in Udaipur, was detained from his residence in Balotra district after investigators flagged his suspicious involvement. The ACB has remanded both men to three days of custody. Authorities plan to register a formal case under Sections 7 and 7A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, alongside Section 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, for criminal conspiracy.
This arrest reignites scrutiny on Soni, who faces prior allegations of misconduct. In February 2024, 35-year-old history lecturer Manohar Lal Bhadu died by suicide in Jaipur after claiming Soni attempted to extort him and fabricate evidence during a recruitment irregularity probe. Bhadu’s suicide note alleged Soni instructed investigators to implicate him in four separate cases to force compliance.
Critics also cite a 2022 Rajasthan High Court order that mandated an inquiry into Soni and two other officers for allegedly weakening drug smuggling cases in Ajmer while Soni served as Circle Officer. The court had observed that the police failed to conduct proper investigations to benefit the accused.
The ACB now faces the task of linking the current financial demand to Soni’s official capacity. Legal proceedings will commence once the three-day remand expires, with the charge sheet expected to detail the specific links between Soni, the middleman, and the Udaipur municipal case files.