Ahmedabad

Former IAS officer Sanjay Gupta was today granted interim bail of one week on health grounds by the Gujarat High Court as well as Gandhinagar court in two separate graft cases in connection with Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar Metro rail scam.

While hearing his bail plea today, HC justice A J Desai granted interim bail to him till December 14. Gupta had sought interim bail on the grounds that he needed urgent medical treatment for his lever-related ailment.

In May this year, Gujarat CID arrested Gupta, who had served as Executive Chairman of state-owned Metro-Link Express for Ahemdabad and Gandhinagar (MEGA) company, alleging that financial irregularities to the tune of Rs 113 crore had taken place during his tenure in MEGA in 2012.

CID had booked Gupta and seven others for siphoning off around Rs 113 crore by presenting forged bills and bogus documents related to ground-filling work carried out near Bhat village for Metro project in 2012.

Since Gupta is also a co-accused in another scam of Rs 2.62 crore related to MEGA, Gandhinagar police arrested him yesterday from Sabarmati jail here through transfer warrant.

He has been named as an accused in an FIR filed at Sector-7 police station of Gandhinagar.

After the high court granted him relief, Gandhinagar police produced him before the local court to seek his remand during evening.

However, Gupta’s lawyers opposed the move and argued that Gupta urgently needs medical attention. They also submitted the high court order and sought similar relief from the Gandhinagar court.

After hearing the arguments, Principal District Judge A C Rao also granted him interim bail till December 14.

In December last year, a senior official of MEGA had lodged an FIR with Sector-7 police station alleging that the company’s former manager Radhesh Bhatt siphonned off Rs 2.62 crore through forged invoices from 2012 to 2013.

In the course of investigation, police found Gupta’s alleged involvement in the scam and made him a co-accused.

Gupta quit IAS in 2003 to start his own business. He runs his hotel business under the banner ‘Neesa Group’. He had also started a Hindi channel called ‘Jano Duniya’ recently but it was closed within a short span.

He was appointed to MEGA by Gujarat government after he quit IAS.

PTI