Bhuj: Former Kutch Collector Pradeep Sharma and three other officials have been sentenced to five years imprisonment and fined ₹10,000 each for their involvement in the illegal allocation of government land in Samaghogha, Mundra to Sopipe As Ltd.

The court found Sharma guilty of violating government regulations by allotting 47,173 square meters of land, exceeding his authority to allocate only up to 2 hectares. Investigations revealed that three separate land applications for the same company and purpose were approved in a single day, violating the rule requiring consolidated decision-making. Specifically, 20,538 square meters in survey number 326, exceeding the 20,000 square meter limit, were allocated.

The other convicted officials include the then Town Planner Natu Desai, Deputy Mamlatdar Narendra Prajapati, and Resident Deputy Collector Ajitsinh Zala. The CID Crime had registered a case against them under IPC sections 217, 409, and 120(B).

The sentence was pronounced by the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhuj, J.V. Buddh, based on 52 documentary evidences and the testimonies of 18 witnesses. Additionally, they were sentenced to three months of simple imprisonment under IPC section 217.

Pradeep Sharma’s current five-year sentence will commence after he completes a previous five-year jail term in an ACB case. Failure to pay the fine will result in an additional six months of rigorous imprisonment. Special Public Prosecutor H.B. Jadeja represented the state CID Crime agency in the case.

Pradeep Sharma, a chemistry graduate, joined the Gujarat Administrative Service in 1981 and was promoted to IAS in 1999. He has served as the Commissioner of Jamnagar and Bhavnagar Municipal Corporations and as the Collector of Rajkot and Kutch districts.