AHMEDABAD: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested IAS officer and former collector of Gujarat's Surendranagar district, Rajendrakumar Patel, in connection with a bribery-linked money laundering case, officials said on Friday.
The central agency is investigating Patel's alleged role in a Rs-10-crore CLU (change of land use) scam where bribes were fixed per square metre, routed through officials, and accounted for in handwritten sheets and digital files. A senior official has confirmed the arrest.
The arrest comes barely a week after Patel, a 2015-batch IAS officer, was transferred without a posting, following the arrest of a Deputy Mamlatdar (revenue officer) Chandrasinh Bhupatsinh Mori, who was entrusted with CLU approvals under the Saurashtra Gharkhed Tenancy Settlement and Agricultural Lands Ordinance, 1949.
According to the ED, Mori abused his authority by demanding bribes for speedy CLU approvals, with rates calculated per square metre of land. During a December 23 raid at Mori’s residence, investigators recovered Rs 67.50 lakh in cash hidden inside a bed.
In a statement recorded under Section 17 of the PMLA, Mori admitted the cash was bribe money and revealed a sharing formula. "50 per cent of the bribe went to the District Collector," he told investigators, adding that he kept 10 per cent while the rest was distributed among senior officials Resident Additional Collector RK Oja (25 per cent), Mamlatdar Mayur Dave (10 per cent) and Clerk Mayursinh D. Gohil (5 per cent).
Mori named Collector Dr Rajendra Patel as the principal beneficiary, stating that the Collector’s personal assistant, Jayrajsinh Jhala, maintained the accounts and physically delivered the Collector’s share.
Jhala, during his ED questioning, admitted that "50 percent of the bribe amount was meant for the District Collector" and further acknowledged that the account sheets were regularly shared with Patel.
The money trail, investigators say, ran through key branches of the Collectorate, including the Magisterial Branch and the Geology Department.
The ED recovered mobile phones, WhatsApp chats, PDFs, photographs and spreadsheets from Mori and a Clerk, Mayursinh Gohil, mapping every stage of the scam.
Handwritten and printed sheets recovered from Mori’s house listed 68 applicants, detailing names, land area, bribe demanded and paid, broker involvement, and the precise division of illegal proceeds. Investigators estimate the scam at around Rs 10 crore, all generated through "speed money" paid to fast-track land conversion files.
The probe also flagged financial irregularities linked to Patel. Despite owning agricultural land, he did not declare any agricultural income in his income tax returns, though land ownership details were reflected on government portals since 2016.
The ED further noted that school fees for his children at the School of Excellence in Surendranagar were not paid by him, raising questions about undeclared financial arrangements. Patel allegedly purchased Flat No. J-102 in Shukan Platinum, Chandlodia, Ahmedabad, in his own name, while the rental income was routed to his mother Jasumatiben Patel’s bank account, a detail investigators believe points to laundering of proceeds.
On December 24, acting on the ED’s complaint, the Gujarat Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) registered an FIR against Patel, Mori, Jhala and Clerk Mayur Gohil, citing a Rs 1 crore bribe transaction and naming brokers whose payouts were recorded.