Gandhinagar: A local court here today issued non bailable warrant against Gujarat Minister Parshottam Solanki in connection with over a decade old Fisheries scam.

The court issued the NBW against Solanki for his non appearance before it. The court has fixed April 20 as the next date of hearing of the matter before which Solanki either would have to surrender or would be arrested.

Notably in December last year the Gujarat High Court had refused to quash the lower court proceedings against the then Agriculture minister Dileep Sanghani and MoS Fisheries Parshottam Solanki in connection with the alleged Rs 400-cr fisheries scam.

The court of Justice J B Pardiwala had rejected the quash petition of Solanki and Sanghani filed separately in 2017. The court while rejecting the petitions said that the two should appear before the Gandhinagar court within two weeks. But Solanki who was ailing with Kidney complications did not do so.

The case pertains to allotment of fishing contracts of 58 reservoirs allegedly without following the proper process in 2008.
The two then ministers had approached the high court after the court in Gandhinagar had taken cognizance of the alleged offence and issued notices to them. An inquiry report by the Anti Corruption Bureau was submitted in the lower court and it had claimed that Solanki had changed the policy without being competent for that. The scam came to light after a contractor from North Gujarat had approached High Court.

DeshGujarat