What happened
In what might be the fastest speedrun from idealism to corruption charges in Indian administrative history, SDM Kajal Meena — a 2024-batch Rajasthan Administrative Service officer who topped the exam in the ST category — was caught by the Anti-Corruption Bureau on April 16 while accepting a Rs 60,000 bribe in Nadoti, Karauli district. She had taken charge only on October 30, 2025. The bribe was for issuing a final decree on a land case, originally demanded at Rs 1 lakh before being negotiated down to Rs 50,000 through her reader Dinesh Kumar Saini and senior assistant Praveen Dhakad. ACB teams recovered an additional Rs 4 lakh in suspected cash from her bag. The real kicker: a pre-exam mock interview clip — in which Meena earnestly explains her dream of bringing positive change to people's lives — has since gone mega-viral. She brought change alright. Just not the kind she described on camera.