Guj ACB plans to unearth disproportionate assets worth Rs 150cr

The Gujarat Anti-CorruptionBureau ACB has set a target of unearthing disproportionateassets worth Rs 150 crore this year, a senior official said onFriday.Speaking to reporters, ACB director Keshav Kumar saidthe bureau has already seized disproportionate assets to thetune of Rs 33 crore in this month alone.This includes bungalows, cars, shops and otherproperties worth Rs 30.47 crore seized from a retired Class-3revenue officer deputy mamlatdar two days ago, he said.As against Rs 27 crore in 2019, the ACB had uneartheddisproportionate assets worth Rs 50.11 crore in 2020.

The Gujarat Anti-CorruptionBureau (ACB) has set a target of unearthing disproportionateassets worth Rs 150 crore this year, a senior official said onFriday.

Speaking to reporters, ACB director Keshav Kumar saidthe bureau has already seized disproportionate assets to thetune of Rs 33 crore in this month alone.

This includes bungalows, cars, shops and otherproperties worth Rs 30.47 crore seized from a retired Class-3revenue officer (deputy mamlatdar) two days ago, he said.

''As against Rs 27 crore in 2019, the ACB had uneartheddisproportionate assets worth Rs 50.11 crore in 2020. Thisyear, we have set a target of Rs 150 crore, of whichproperties worth Rs 33 crore have already been seized,'' theofficial said.

The Gujarat ACB is the only bureau in the countrywhich takes the help of forensic advisors, he said.

Despite the coronavirus-induced lockdown last year,the ACB had arrested 310 working and serving governmentstaffers and private individuals under the Prevention ofCorruption Act, Kumar said, adding that the conviction ratehas now gone up to 41 per cent.

Meanwhile, additional chief secretary Home and RevenuePankaj Kumar said 16 FIRs were already lodged across the stateagainst 34 persons under the new Gujarat Land Grabbing(Prohibition) Act.

''All these are big ticket cases. The total areaallegedly captured by these 34 persons is around 1.35 lakh sqm. As per jantri rate (government rate), the value of thisland is Rs 220 crore. The price would be much higher as perthe market rate,'' he said in the joint press conference.

Apart from this, over 100 people, including 26 membersof a notorious gang operating in Vadodara, have been arrestedunder the Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime Act(GCTOC), state DGP Ashish Bhatia said.