Chhota Udepur: Following a recent cases involving a fake government officers, another incident has now come to light involving a bogus government office. In this case, the accused established a fraudulent government office by the name of “Executive Engineer of Irrigation Projects Bodeli.” Now, the police have arrested two individuals who have been remanded for 12 days. During this period of custody, it is anticipated that substantial revelations will emerge.

The fictitious office, “Executive Engineer of Irrigation Project Bodeli,” was created by an individual named Sandeep Rajput in Chhota Udepur. Through this fake office, they managed to obtain an amount totaling 4 crore 15 lakhs rupees for a total of 93 projects. This fraudulent scheme had been ongoing since 2021, and it has now come to light.

On October 25, a meeting was convened to discuss an irrigation scheme under the D-Seg project at the sponsorship office in Chotaudepur, attended by employees from various departments. During the meeting, a proposal amounting to Rs. 3.74 crores for 12 irrigation scheme projects within the border village scheme for the year 2023-24 was submitted. Dhaval Patel, the Executive Engineer of the Bodeli Irrigation Department, was also present at the meeting. When questioned about the proposal, he disavowed any knowledge of its submission. This revelation astonished the sponsoring officer, who promptly initiated an investigation, leading to the revelation of disturbing details.

Prior to this revelation, approvals were granted for 40 projects from different schemes and projects in the year 2021-22, amounting to Rs. 1.97 crores. In the subsequent year, 2022-23, grants were sanctioned for 53 projects from various schemes and initiatives, totaling Rs. 2.18 crores. Consequently, the entire scam was unveiled, exposing a total of 93 projects amounting to Rs. 4,15,54,915 crores that were manipulated and exploited from July 26, 2021, up to the present.

Sandeep Rajput, leveraging the signature seal of the Executive Engineer, Irrigation Project Division Bodeli, successfully fabricated a non-existent government office that apparently only existed on paper. When this ruse was eventually uncovered, Javed Bhai, a junior clerk in the administrative office of Chhota Udepur grant, filed a complaint against the two perpetrators with the Chhota Udepur police. Subsequently, both suspects, Sandeep Rajput and Abubakar Syed, were apprehended and remanded for a period of 12 days.

The police are also investigating any potential involvement of additional individuals in this fake office, including the scrutiny of the bank accounts into which funds were deposited via cheques and the source of the counterfeit seals. The full extent of the accused individuals’ criminal activities will become clearer as the police investigation progresses. Furthermore, the police have indicated that any employees within the sponsorship department found to be complicit will also face legal repercussions.

The accused have been booked under Article 170 (simulating the position of a public official), 419 (deception through impersonation), and various applicable statutes of the Indian Penal Code.DeshGujarat