ACB book former GujSAIL CEO Chauhan and others in Rs. 72 crore graft case

Gandhinagar: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Gujarat has booked the former CEO of Gujarat State Aviation Infrastructure Company Ltd (GUJSAIL), Captain Ajay Chauhan, and others for corruption during Chauhan’s tenure as the CEO. Currently suspended, Chauhan, along with others, is accused of causing losses to the government exchequer and committing corruption amounting over Rs. 72 crores, as stated by the ACB in its press release.

The ACB was investigating his conduct as the CEO of GUJSAIL, and after the inquiry, the ACB has registered an offence against Ajay Karansinh Chauhan, the Captain and then Accountable Manager of GUJSAIL, Alpesh Tripathi, Director of Keshmeck Aviation Pvt. Ltd., and Alpeshkumar Prajapati, Accountant at GUJSAIL.

Chauhan assumed the position of Director of Civil Aviation in April 2004 and served in this capacity for 18 years. He was then appointed as CEO of GUJSAIL in January 2010, maintaining this role for 13 years. After the Chief Minister’s Office received numerous complaints regarding Chauhan, he was removed from his post in February 2023.

Chauhan also faces allegations of abusing government aircraft on more than 100 occasions to transport family and acquaintances. The inquiry report delineates Chauhan’s various personal excursions utilizing government aircraft, which were procured using public funds.

Furthermore, Chauhan has been found to have amassed properties worth Rs 100 crore, comprising flats, farmhouses, and commercial properties in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, and Noida. To evade detection, he purportedly acquired a farmhouse in the names of close relatives and others. DeshGujarat