Enforcement Directorate's Delhi wing arrest Gujarat revenue officer, seize Rs 67L cash 'concealed in bedroom'

Ahmedabad: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday arrested a deputy mamlatdar of Surendranagar district and allegedly seized over Rs 67 lakh in cash from his bedroom during the search operation a day earlier.

The case is being investigated by the human intelligence unit (HIU) of ED, Delhi which started the probe based on zero FIR registered by Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) under sections of prevention of corruption act, 1988.

According to senior official with the ACB, the FIR registered on Tuesday figures three another accused, including Surendranagar collector Rajendra Patel, his personal assistant, among others. Based on FIR, the ED has launched investigation under prevention of money laundering act.

When contacted, Surendranagar collector Patel denied having any information and told DH, "I don't have any such communication. They (ED) also didn't provide anything during searches. These allegations sound like rumours."

A day after raiding collector office and other premises associated with the suspects, ED arrested Chandrasinh Bhupatsinh Mori, 42. He was posted as deputy mamlatdar & executive magistrate in the collector office. Mori was produced before a special court in Ahmedabad which remanded him a week's custody.

In the remand application, the ED has mentioned that during its investigation "large-scale corruption and generation of proceeds of crime through systematic extortion, demand, and collection of illegal gratification by public servants in the office of district collector" was revealed. The corruption, ED's application states, was largely in connection with "grant and processing of applications for CLU (change of land use) and related statutory permissions..."

ED has claimed that "bribes were systematically demanded and collected as "speed money" for processing application without delay." It claims that the bribe amount was "pre-fixed, calculated on per-square-metre basis depending on the nature of application."

During the search operation on Tuesday, Rs67.50 lakh cash was seized from the bedroom of Mori. ED has claimed that Mori "categorically admitted that the seized cash represents bribe money demanded and collected by him, directly and through intermediaries, from applicants seeking expedited or favourable processing of statutory land-use application".