ACB registers DA case against retired forest officer in Guj

This year, the ACB has so far registered cases of disproportionate assets against 34 serving and retired employees of the Gujarat government.Among these, three are class-1 officers, 11 class-2 officers, while 20 are class-3 employees, the release said.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau on Tuesday registered a case against a retired class-2 forest officer in Gujarat for allegedly possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. As against his legitimate income of Rs 2.14 crore, the government employee, who retired a few years back as assistant conservator for forest in Vadodara, made investments worth Rs 3.26 crore.

This was Rs 1.12 crore, or 55.65 per cent, more than his known sources of income, the ACB said in a release. Between 2007 and 2016, the accused had deposited Rs 32.15 lakh cash into his bank accounts.

The ACB also found that he had withdrawn Rs 1.10 crore from his bank accounts during this period. This year, the ACB has so far registered cases of disproportionate assets against 34 serving and retired employees of the Gujarat government.

Among these, three are class-1 officers, 11 class-2 officers, while 20 are class-3 employees, the release said. The cumulative market value of the alleged disproportionate assets (DA), including land and residential properties, is estimated at Rs 44.80 crore, the ACB said, adding that it has launched a special drive to unearth benami and ill-gotten properties.

Eight of the accused were earlier employed with the now-defunct Gujarat Land Development Corporation, it said. The other accused were attached with departments like urban development, revenue, panchayat, irrigation, PWD, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, police, education, forest and environment, health, and mines and minerals, it said.

They were booked under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, the release said..