Jaipur: Rajasthan govt Wednesday placed senior IAS officer Shikhar Agrawal under awaiting posting order (APO) amid allegations that he, his IPS officer wife Prashakha Mathur, their two sons and parents-in-law purchased 40 villas and cottages from the same company over a period of two-and-a-half years. The allegations were reported by a local newspaper.According to an order issued by the personnel department late Wednesday night, Agrawal, a 1993-batch IAS officer, has been placed under APO until further orders for administrative reasons.Agrawal was serving as additional chief secretary (ACS) of industries, MSME, planning and other departments. He also held the posts of chairperson of Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation (RIICO) and managing director of RAJSICO.Agrawal could not be contacted despite repeated calls and messages seeking his response to the allegations and his removal from the post. Chief Secretary V Srinivas and ACS to the chief minister Akhil Arora also did not respond to calls and messages. Officials in Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said there was no official confirmation yet on whether an inquiry or an internal probe would be initiated into the allegations against Agrawal.One of the senior-most IAS officers in the state, Agrawal, had earlier served in CMO. He was removed from CMO following reports of differences with former chief secretary Sudhansh Pant. The tussle between the two over transfer of officials and allegations of files being bypassed had become a major talking point in the corridors of power. Many believe this to be one of the reasons for Pant opting for central deputation.Despite being seventh in the seniority pecking order among IAS officers in the state, Agrawal was among the contenders for the chief secretary’s post after Srinivas’s scheduled retirement in Feb 2027. Other officers in the race included Abhay Kumar, Akhil Arora and Aparna Arora, while Rajat Kumar Mishra, another contender, is currently on central deputation.
