NE NEWS SERVICE
GANDHINAGAR, JAN 22
The Gujarat Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has set a target of unearthing disproportionate assets worth Rs 150 crore this year, a senior official said on Friday.
Speaking to reporters, ACB director Keshav Kumar said the bureau has already seized disproportionate assets to the tune of Rs 33 crore in this month alone.
This includes bungalows, cars, shops, and other properties worth Rs 30.47 crore seized from a retired Class-3 revenue officer (deputy mamlatdar) two days ago, he said.
“As against Rs 27 crore in 2019, the ACB had unearthed disproportionate assets worth Rs 50.11 crore in 2020. This year, we have set a target of Rs 150 crore, of which properties worth Rs 33 crore have already been seized,” the official said.
The Gujarat ACB is the only bureau in the country which takes the help of forensic advisors, he said.
Despite the coronavirus-induced lockdown last year, the ACB had arrested 310 working and serving government staffers and private individuals under the Prevention of Corruption Act, Kumar said, adding that the conviction rate has now gone up to 41 percent.
Meanwhile, additional chief secretary Home and Revenue Pankaj Kumar said 16 FIRs were already lodged across the state against 34 persons under the new Gujarat Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act.
“All these are big-ticket cases. The total area allegedly captured by these 34 persons is around 1.35 lakh sq m. As per jantri rate (government rate), the value of this land is Rs 220 crore. The price would be much higher as per the market rate,” he said in the joint press conference.
Apart from this, over 100 people, including 26 members of a notorious gang operating in Vadodara, have been arrested under the Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime Act (GCTOC), state DGP Ashish Bhatia said.
