Jaipur, Dec. 31 -- Despite an overall 20% fall in the crime rate over the past two years, Rajasthan witnessed several disturbing incidents in 2025. The deaths of three children after consuming spurious cough syrup purchased from government hospitals sparked public fury, even as authorities insisted the samples were safe. The year ended with a high-level probe into allegations of bribery against three MLAs-from the BJP, Congress, and an Independent Candidate-over the release of Local Area Development (LAD) funds. In another major development, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested former Congress minister Mahesh Joshi in the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) scam, while the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) detained four senior officials. Meanwhile, the state was rattled by a spate of over 65 bomb hoaxes and the arrest of multiple alleged spies linked to Pakistan's ISI. Authorities said several inquiries launched this year are expected to conclude early next year, with more arrests likely in key corruption cases. In September and October, outrage spread across Sikar and Bharatpur districts after three children died allegedly after consuming cough syrup purchased from local government hospitals. In Sikar, two-year-old Nityansh was given leftover dextromethorphan syrup at home, later found unconscious and declared dead. In Bharatpur, Samrat, being treated for pneumonia, died on September 22 after taking cough syrup. In a third case, Nihal Singh of Luhasa village in Weir tehsil said his sons - Than Singh (5) and Teerthraj Singh (2) - were prescribed the syrup at a Community Health Centre. The Union health ministry later stated that the Dextromethorphan HBr syrup involved "did not contain propylene glycol, which can be a potential source of DEG and EG contaminants," but noted that "the product under reference is a dextromethorphan-based formulation, which is not recommended for paediatric use." The state government subsequently launched a probe against the manufacturer, Kaysons Pharma, which supplied the syrup to government hospitals. The company's factory in Jaipur's Jhotwara area was sealed after procedural irregularities were found. A report by the Rajasthan Food and Drug Control Commission (RFDCC) revealed that at least 42 syrup samples from Kaysons Pharma had failed quality tests between February 2022 and February 2024. On May 4, the ACB arrested Bharat Adivasi Party MLA Jaikrishn Patel for allegedly accepting a Rs.20 lakh bribe from a mine owner at his official residence to withdraw three questions listed in the Assembly proceedings. The Rajasthan High Court granted him bail on 4 August, observing that he had been in custody for over three months and the trial was delayed. The ACB's charge sheet is pending government sanction, while the Assembly's ethics committee is also reviewing the matter. A November sting operation by a local media outlet caught three MLAs-BJP's Rewant Ram Danga, Congress's Anita Jatav, and Independent MLA Ritu Banawat-allegedly accepting bribes to release funds from their LAD quotas. Following publication of the report on December 14, CM Bhajan Lal Sharma ordered a high-level inquiry. Both the BJP and Congress issued notices to the concerned legislators and initiated internal probes. The Assembly ethics committee has also summoned the three MLAs for questioning. Former Congress minister Mahesh Joshi was arrested by the ED on April 25 under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), based on an ACB FIR filed on August 8 2023. The case surfaced in August 2023 after the ACB arrested five people, including PHED engineers, for allegedly accepting a Rs.2 lakh bribe from contractor Padam Chand Jain. Later that month, the ED took over the investigation, naming 22 officials including then additional chief secretary Subodh Agrawal and Joshi's aide Sanjay Badhaya-arrested by the ED in July 2024-as accused. The ED's preliminary findings suggested that Joshi and Agrawal allegedly received around 4% of tender values as kickbacks to approve inflated contracts under the JJM. On 17 December this year, an ACB Special Investigation Team arrested five more individuals-Mahesh Kumar Mittal, Hemant Mittal alias Golu, Umesh Kumar Sharma, Gopal Kumawat (then PHED accounts officer), and Piyush Jain-after analysing technical evidence and surveillance data. On October 7, businessman and BJP worker Ramesh Rulania was shot dead at a Kuchaman gym while exercising. Police said three masked assailants fired multiple rounds at him before fleeing in two vehicles. The incident was captured on CCTV. Soon after the killing, gangster Rohit Godara's associate Veerendra Charan claimed responsibility on social media. Police later linked one of the suspects-previously seen conducting reconnaissance near actress Disha Patani's Mumbai home-to Rulania's murder. Over 65 bomb hoaxes emailed to district collectors, the Rajasthan high court, airports, schools, railway stations, and the Ajmer Dargah created panic across the state this year. Police have sought help from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Intelligence Bureau (IB) to trace the senders, who reportedly used VPNs to mask locations. Since March, at least seven people have been arrested by Rajasthan Police's intelligence wing for allegedly spying for Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Among them are a Punjab-based suspect caught in Sriganganagar, a local government employee close to former minister Saleh Muhammed, the manager of a DRDO guesthouse in Jaisalmer, and a Jodhpur restaurant owner. On May 24, a 23-year-old pregnant woman died at Jaipur's Sawai Man Singh Hospital after receiving a blood transfusion meant for another patient with the same name. Following the incident, a nursing staff member was dismissed. Earlier this month, the CBSE removed two teachers from a private Jaipur school after a nine-year-old student died by suicide on October 1 by jumping from the fourth floor of the building. Investigations by two separate panels-one by the CBSE and another by the state Education Department-found that the child had been bullied for over a year, reportedly on sexual connotations, while teachers ignored complaints. The department has since issued a notice to the school for violating building by-laws....