Gujarat
ACB Seizes 22 kg Gold, Rs 3 crore from Party in Rajkot Fire in Gaming Place
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Customs not in Picture
[ABS News Service/03.07.2024]
Gujarat’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) seized 22 kg of gold worth
around Rs 16 crore and Rs 3 crore in cash in connection with a case of
disproportionate assets (DA) registered last month against suspended Rajkot
town planner MD Sagathiya. ACB officers said the gold
and hard cash, which were unaccounted for, were seized from his brother’s
office in the city on Tuesday.
Sagathiya was arrested by the ACB and
produced in court on Monday. This comes after his six-day remand, which ended
on June 24, in a separate case of forgery registered by the Rajkot Crime
Branch. The ACB had secured his transfer warrant and sought further remand.
Hours after his production in court, the ACB conducted searches at his brother Dilip Sagathiya’s office in Twin
Star, a high-end commercial hub near Nana Mava Chow
on Ring Road late on Monday evening.
“When we produced Sagathiya, we also
intimated the court that we have recorded the statement of MD Sagathiya’s brother Dilip Sagathiya and that the latter has consented to open his
office for the purpose of investigation, though he is not an accused in the
case as of now,” a senior ACB officer told on Tuesday.
The officer said that once the investigation was permitted by
court, “Dilip Sagathiya
helped open the biometric lock of the office and facilitated searches there”,
adding that Dilip claims to be a farmer by
occupation.
MD
Sagathiya was first arrested on May 30 by a special
investigation team (SIT) of Rajkot city police for his alleged acts of omission
that had led to a blaze at TRP Game Zone which killed 27 people. The SIT’s
probe had reportedly revealed that Sagathiya was
aware that TRP Game Zone, a gaming zone complex, had been functioning since
2021 without due clearance from the Rajkot Municipal Corporations’ town
planning department, which he was heading. However, the town planner had taken
no action against the gaming zone, leading to the fire.
The ACB had booked Sagathiya on June 19
for allegedly owning DAs worth Rs 10.55 crores. The DA case was registered against
Sagathiya following ACB searches at his office in RMC
headquarters as well at his residence on May 30, in the aftermath of the blaze.
“We were aware about the existence of this office near Nana Mava Chowk post the searches in May. However, Sagathiya’s brother was out of town and not reachable even
on his phone. But subsequently, he joined the investigation and stated that he
kept mum, fearing his family would be targeted,” the ACB officer said.
Simultaneous searches were conducted at the office and residence
of Bhikha Theba, deputy
chief fire officer of Rajkot. Theba was also arrested
by the ACB for allegedly owning 79.94 lakh worth of DAs.
The Rajkot Crime Branch had filed a separate offence against Sagathiya on June 8 for allegedly forging a minutes book of his office on May 27 to create false records
of meetings as his defence in the aftermath of the fire. After his 12-day SIT
remand ended on June 12, the Rajkot Crime Branch had arrested him on June 17
and secured his second remand for until June 24.