ACB files FIR against former Surendranagar collector Rajendrakumar Patel, 3 others

GUjarat’s Anti- depravity Bureau (ACB) has registered a corruption caseful against former Surendranagar territory aggregator Rajendrakumar Patel, his personal help Jayrajsinh Jhala, clerk Mayursinh Gohil and deputy mamlatdar (tehsildar) Chandrasinh Mori after the Enforcement Directorate allegedly seized ₹67.5 lakh in cash from Mori’s residence and arrested him in a money laundering case.ACB director Piyush Patel said, “We have booked four persons, including the Surendranagar collector, on the basis of the Enforcement Directorate’s complaint. The investigation is in progress and all aspects are being examined.”He said the ED has already filed an FIR against the Patel and three others on money laundering charges.The case has brought scrutiny on district-level administration, where collectorates play a central role in land conversions, non-agricultural permissions and other revenue-related approvals. Patel headed the Surendranagar district administration and exercised final authority over land-use and other key revenue decisions processed through the collectorate, officials said.The 2015 batch IAS officer holds a post graduate degree in public policy and a bachelor’s degree in dental surgery. Before Surendranagar, he served in revenue and district administration roles, handling land, law and order and coordination of government departments at the district level.ED started investigating money laundering charges against Mori earlier this week after the Gujarat ACB registered a FIR against him.During searches carried out at multiple locations connected to the deputy mamlatdar Chandrasinh Mori, ED recovered ₹67.5 lakh in cash from his residence. Investigators said Mori could not explain the source of the cash.The federal agency arrested Mori and produced him before a special court, which remanded him in ED custody for eight days.ED also told the court that the recovery of cash pointed to a larger arrangement of illegal collections linked to official work carried out from the collectorate, rather than an isolated act by a single official.The agency’s application to seek Mori’s custody for interrogation said bribes were allegedly demanded and collected as “speed money” for expediting applications, with amounts pre-fixed and calculated on a per-square-metre basis. The agency also claimed payments were routed through intermediaries whose details were recorded by the accused.“It appears that bribes were also taken for routine work by deliberately holding up files that were otherwise moving in the normal course and then demanding money to expedite them. Several such files have been recovered from the collectorate and are under examination. At this stage, it is difficult to assess the full scale of the alleged scam,” said a second ACB official aware of the matter.“The FIR alleges abuse of official position by public servants for obtaining illegal gratification in connection with their official functions. The deputy mamlatdar remains under arrest in the ED case, while the roles of the other accused are under investigation by the ACB,” said the second official.Officials said they are examining revenue and land-related files handled by the accused officials, along with bank accounts, financial transactions and asset details, to trace the alleged money trail.Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi alleged that such scams have been continuing for a long time and were not limited to Surendranagar, but could be present in other districts as well, including Kutch.