GLDC bribery case: ED files case against former MD Detroja under PML Act

Gandhinagar: The Enforcement Directorate has lodged a case under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against the main accused of the sensational Gujarat Land Development Corporation (GLDC) bribery case and former MD of the corporation K S Detroja, an official of the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Gujarat police today said.

ACB’s Assistant Director D P Chudasama today said that the ACB had raided the corporation office in Gandhinagar on April 12 last year and recovered in all over Rs 56 lakh in cash from 5 senior officers and a company secretary including Rs 1.28 lakh from Detroja.

Later during detailed investigation it came to fore that Detroja had over 70 hectare of land in his name which was in violation of the existing land ceiling act in the state. The revenue department has been advised to take appropriated action in this regard. It has also been revealed that his PhD degree was also fake. He had also amassed benami property worth over Rs 2.52 crore in the name of his relatives.

Chudasama said that the ED has now lodged a case under PMLA against Detroja and investigation would be done. An assistant director level officer of the ACB has been appointed as a nodal officer for coordination between various agencies including the ED, the Income Tax department in this matter.

Notably Detroja who was on run for over two weeks after the raid, was later nabbed from a place between Vadodara and Ahmedabad by the crime branch of Ahmedabad police and handed over to the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB).

After the ACB had raided the GLDC office here in the evening of April 12 and recovered cash worth over Rs 56 lakhs from there. It was revealed that 5 officials of the corporation including Detroja were involved in taking bribe from various quarters. Large scale scam across the state was also revealed in the functioning of the corporation which the state government later scrapped.

DeshGujarat