Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court has sought a response from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on the bail plea of suspended IAS officer Rajendrakumar Patel, who is facing charges of money laundering and corruption linked to land-use change approvals during his tenure as Surendranagar collector.

The 2015-batch officer approached the high court after a special PMLA court rejected his regular bail application on March 12. He was arrested on January 2 following an FIR registered by the state Anti-Corruption Bureau in a bribery case. The high court has scheduled the next hearing for April 10.

In his defence before the trial court, Patel claimed innocence and cited an unblemished service record. However, the ED opposed the plea, stating that ₹67.50 lakh in cash was recovered from his subordinate and that seized documents, including accounting sheets, detailed alleged bribe collections linked to land-use approvals.

The trial court, while denying bail, noted that the records indicated Patel allegedly received over ₹3.12 crore as his share. Citing evidence such as accounting sheets, WhatsApp records, and statements recorded under the PMLA, the court said it could not form a prima facie view that the accused was not involved in money laundering. DeshGujarat