Jaipur: Special Operations Group (SOG) additional superintendent of police (ASP) Mukesh Kumar Soni was arrested by Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Sunday, a day after his alleged middleman was caught with Rs 2 crore in connection with the Udaipur 272-plot scam. The money was allegedly demanded to provide relief to suspects arrested in the case.ACB’s preliminary probe has revealed that Soni allegedly met the complainant in a car parked near a crossing in Udaipur after middleman Sajjan Singh Jain arranged the meeting to win the complainant’s confidence.According to the complainant, Soni sat in the front seat while he and Jain were seated in the back.Sources said that they have not ruled out the possibility of involvement of other persons in the case.The meeting allegedly took place after Jain demanded Rs 2 crore from the complainant to get the matter settled. When the demand was made, the complainant told officials that he wanted to meet Soni first to establish that Jain was acting on the officer’s behalf.DIG (ACB) Rameshwar Singh said Soni was detained from his house in Balotra Saturday night and taken to Udaipur before being placed under arrest Sunday.Sources said Soni and Jain would be confronted during the investigation.The case in which the alleged bribe was sought was registered in 2022 over suspected irregularities involving 272 plots. According to the complaint, officials and employees of the municipal corporation allegedly colluded with others to prepare forged documents for the plots and subsequently obtain lease deeds and mutation records.Udaipur Development Authority had transferred several colonies to the municipal corporation in 2012. Many of the plots were vacant, with a large number located on corners. Police alleged that some were subsequently encroached upon, while forged documents were prepared, mutations carried out and some plots sold through middlemen.Soni’s earlier postings have also come under scrutiny. In 2022, Rajasthan High Court ordered the transfer of three police officers, including Soni, out of the Ajmer range following allegations that they had attempted to favour an accused in a narcotics trafficking case.Soni was posted with the SOG’s Ajmer unit in 2024 but was later removed amid controversies surrounding his role in several cases. He was posted to the SOG’s Udaipur unit in Nov 2025.
