Former collector of Surendranagar in Gujarat arrested in connection with a Rs 1500 crore land scam.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) team has arrested Rajendra Patel, the former Collector of Surendranagar in Gujarat. The arrest is linked to a land scam worth ₹1500 crore. On Friday, three ED teams arrived at Rajendra Patel's residence in Gandhinagar, where he was arrested after questioning.

The ED team had conducted raids in Surendranagar district on December 20 and 21.  Besides Surendranagar Collector Rajendra Patel, raids were also conducted at the residences of his PA Jayrajsinh Jhala, Deputy Tehsildar Chandrasinh Mori, and clerk Mayursinh Gohil.

₹60 lakh cash recovered from Deputy Tehsildar's house
During the raids, more than ₹60 lakh in cash was seized from Mori's house. The cash was hidden in his bedroom. Mori was arrested after the money was found. Subsequently, in his statement recorded under Section 17 of the PMLA on December 23, Mori admitted that the seized cash was bribe money, received from applicants directly or through intermediaries.

₹1 crore bribe was taken
The complaint filed with the ACB also states that Chandrasinh Mori had taken a bribe of ₹1 crore. This also involved Collector Rajendra Patel, clerk Mayur Gohil, and PA Jayrajsinh Jhala. The investigation also revealed that the names of the brokers who paid the money were written on a plain piece of paper. Following this, Rajendra Patel was transferred to Gandhinagar, and his services were placed under the Gujarat Administration Department (GAD).

₹1500 crore land scam
Deputy Tehsildar Mori was entrusted with the title verification and processing of CLU (Change of Land Use) applications under the Saurashtra Gharkhed Tenancy Settlement and Agricultural Lands Ordinance, 1949. However, Mori misused his power. Mori accepted bribes to expedite the approval of files related to over 3,600 bighas of land worth Rs 1,500 crore in the Thangadh area of ​​Wadhwan. The ED stated that the bribe amount was fixed per square meter. The ED's investigation revealed that several names were added to the survey numbers of this land in Wadhwan, and bribes were being taken for adding these names to the survey. The ED's investigation may reveal several more names added to the survey.

Collector took files home
The ED also raided the house of Surendranagar Collector Rajendra Patel. It was discovered that the collector was taking files related to this land home. 100 such files were seized from his bungalow. It has also come to light that Rajendra Patel owns assets worth more than Rs 5 crore.

Who is Dr. Rajendra Kumar Patel?
Dr. Rajendra Kumar Patel, a 2015 batch IAS officer, hails from Ahmedabad district of Gujarat. Born on August 23, 1985, Rajendra Kumar joined the civil services on September 7, 2015. The government appointed Patel as the Collector of Surendranagar on February 4 this year. Rajendra Kumar Patel holds a BDS degree and an MA in Public Policy.