A senior government officer in Rajasthan has come under the scanner of the state’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) for allegedly orchestrating a salary scam involving his wife’s fake employment. The accused, Pradhyuman Dixit, a Joint Director at Rajcomp Info Services Ltd, is accused of diverting over ₹30 lakh to his wife by fraudulently showing her as an employee of two private IT firms involved in government projects.
According to reports from The Times of India (TOI), Dixit is alleged to have misused his official position to grant work orders and favours to two companies in return for financial kickbacks disguised as legitimate salaries paid to his wife, Poonam Dixit. Investigators believe Poonam never performed any duties for either company, yet received regular monthly payments into her personal bank accounts.
The Allegations
The ACB’s First Information Report (FIR) states that between 2019 and 2020, Poonam Dixit was simultaneously shown as an employee of both firms, which were working on government IT and communication projects. Despite her dual employment, investigators say she was not assigned any work or project during this time, and never visited the office.
An ACB official quoted in the report said,
“The two companies kept depositing salaries into her different private bank accounts between 2019 and 2020. Throughout this period, she never went to the office.”
The payments, which totalled over ₹30 lakh, are suspected to be bribes disguised as wages, allegedly given in exchange for contract approvals and clearances that Dixit facilitated for these firms through his influential post in Rajcomp Info Services Ltd—a state government undertaking responsible for IT infrastructure and e-governance in Rajasthan.
Investigation and Charges
The Anti-Corruption Bureau has registered a case under several provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for criminal conspiracy, cheating, and misuse of public office.
Apart from Pradhyuman and Poonam Dixit, the FIR also names Rakesh Kumar Kamlesh and several other company employees as co-accused. The ACB is now investigating whether Dixit himself approved his wife’s attendance and performance reports to make the fraudulent employment appear genuine.
Investigators are scrutinizing internal records, payroll entries, and communication between Rajcomp and the two companies to establish the chain of responsibility and confirm whether Dixit directly influenced hiring or salary approvals.
The FIR notes that Dixit was serving as Joint Director of the Data Centre division at the time of the alleged misconduct—an influential position overseeing several IT-related projects and vendor approvals. Sources said his role gave him significant control over which private firms received contracts or extensions, making it easier for him to manipulate appointments and payments indirectly.
Pattern of Corruption
This case adds to a growing list of corruption incidents reported in Rajasthan’s administrative system in recent months. In a similar case reported from Churu district, another government official was caught red-handed by the ACB while accepting a bribe.
According to a statement from the ACB, Nirmal Soni, an Assistant Administrative Officer posted at the Sardarshahar tehsil office, allegedly demanded ₹1 lakh from a complainant in exchange for facilitating the conversion of agricultural land.
Acting on the complaint, the Jhunjhunu ACB unit laid a trap on Monday and arrested Soni while he was accepting ₹90,000 in cash. The bribe money was recovered from his trouser pocket, confirming the illegal transaction. ACB officials said further interrogation and legal proceedings were underway.
Wider Implications and Next Steps
The latest allegations against Pradhyuman Dixit highlight the persistent challenges of corruption and misuse of authority within state-run departments, especially in areas involving large-scale contracts and IT procurement. Rajcomp Info Services Ltd, being the central agency for digital projects in Rajasthan, handles contracts worth crores of rupees annually—making it particularly vulnerable to influence and irregularities.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau is now expected to examine whether similar practices occurred in other projects under Dixit’s supervision and whether his associates or subordinates played any role. The agency is also verifying whether Dixit used his position to personally approve his wife’s attendance sheets or salary verifications, which would amount to clear abuse of office.
A senior ACB official stated that investigators have already collected documentary evidence, including salary slips, appointment letters, and bank statements, linking the salary transfers to the companies and confirming that Poonam Dixit did not contribute any verifiable work.
If proven, the case could lead to serious criminal charges, including forfeiture of illicit gains, departmental suspension, and potential dismissal from service under civil service rules. The companies involved could also face penalties or blacklisting from future government projects if found complicit.
Systemic Concerns in Public-Private Collaborations
The case also raises broader concerns about how public-private partnerships (PPP) in government IT projects are monitored. Experts have long warned that weak oversight mechanisms often allow public officials to influence vendor selection and extract illegal benefits. In many such cases, kickbacks are disguised through consulting fees, family employment, or inflated invoices—methods that are difficult to detect without financial audits.
Rajasthan’s ACB, over the past few years, has intensified its operations against such practices, conducting frequent trap operations and audits targeting officials in departments like revenue, education, and public works. Yet, incidents such as this one suggest that corruption networks continue to adapt and find new avenues.
Public and Political Reaction
While the case is still under investigation, news of the alleged fraud has sparked sharp criticism from opposition leaders and transparency advocates, who have demanded stricter enforcement and routine auditing of government-linked companies. Civil society organizations in Rajasthan have also called for mandatory asset disclosures for senior bureaucrats and their families to prevent indirect financial transactions that benefit relatives.
Social media reactions have also reflected public anger, with many users expressing disbelief over how such schemes could continue unchecked within highly monitored departments like IT and communication.
Conclusion
The case of Pradhyuman Dixit and the alleged ₹30 lakh salary fraud in his wife’s name underscores both individual misconduct and systemic weaknesses within Rajasthan’s public administration. If the allegations are proven, it would reveal how easily official authority can be leveraged for personal enrichment, even through seemingly minor loopholes like fake employment records.
As the Anti-Corruption Bureau deepens its probe, the outcome could serve as a key test of Rajasthan’s commitment to transparency and institutional integrity. For now, the ACB’s swift action and simultaneous arrests in similar cases signal that the state’s anti-graft machinery is tightening its grip—but also that the problem of corruption remains far from over.
Leave a Reply