Gandhinagar: There is a possibility of a Rs 10 crore scam getting unearthed in Gau Seva and Gauchar Vikas Board in the coming days. The Anti-corruption Bureau (ACB) has arrested a former assistant superintendent for animal husbandry in regards to this scam. The ACB has also been granted two-day custody of this government official.

The ACB suspects the involvement of other officers and employees of the board.

The arrested superintendent for animal husbandry had distributed money to 13 trusts and 87-gram panchayats. However, some of these trusts are such that they are not registered under the Public Charity Act. A couple of trusts were allotted money without their having submitted an application online to receive the aid.

The ACB believes that besides officials of the board, the trail of this scam may lead them to contractors and certain village sarpanches.

The scam was committed between 2018 and 2019. During this period, S D Patel was serving as the assistant superintendent of animal husbandry at the board. He was also given the additional charge of deputy superintendent animal husbandry in 2019. While he held this additional charge, Rs 1.52 crores were distributed to 13 organizations/trusts and Rs 8.67 crore to 87 different gram panchayats with his signature.

The money had been distributed without seeking prior approval from either the secretary or a board member or even the state government. The distribution of the money by the concerned official was completely in contravention of rules and went beyond his ambit.

The then joint superintendent of animal husbandry had filed a complaint against the allegedly errant official with the Ahmedabad ACB. After the complaint though, the official had secured an order from the court which stayed his arrest.

However, the Gandhinagar ACB continued to pursue this matter. Preliminary investigation has revealed that certain trusts from the 13 that were distributed money are not registered as charitable organizations while two trusts were released money despite their not filing an application requesting aid. Money was distributed to the gram panchayats on the pretext of undertaking works for cow welfare. No work related to cow welfare has been undertaken at all in many of these gram panchayats. The investigation by the ACB has revealed that contractors used forged bills as evidence of welfare work undertaken and appropriated the funds.

Preliminary investigation has revealed that the errant official had also received kickbacks from the contractors who claimed to have undertaken the cow welfare works at these 13 trusts and 87-gram panchayats.

DeshGujarat