ACB books senior official of GSLDC and his family in disproportionate assets case

According to a statement from ACB on Saturday, he has been booked under The Prohibition of Benami Properties Transactions Act 1988 for allegedly amassing disproportionate assets between April 2008 and March 2018. Using the money amassed he has bought properties in the name of his wife and son. Both of them have also been booked in the same case, the statement added. Premal is resident of Chandkheda in Ahmedabad.

The accused officer had benefitted his son by showing him as a gang leader in the government works executed by GSLDC. During investigations, the ACB officials found that the accused official had bought 32 properties, including a BMW car, apartment, agricultural land, shops and a restaurant in Ahmedabad and rural areas of the district. He had purchased a flat in Dharampur too. “We believe that this case is just the tip of the iceberg,” a senior ACB official told The Indian Express.

So far, 289 people, including five Class-I officers, 65 Class-II officers and 93 Class-III officials, have been arrested by the ACB in the 60 corruption cases filed by ACB related to GSLDC, said officials. The rest of those arrested are middle-men.

Premal’s name figures in the 26 of the 41 cases filed against officials of the GLDC between 2018 and 2019. These cases were filed after surprise check at the GLDC office in Gandhinagar revealed large-scale corruption where officials of the corporation had taken large “commissions” from the grants given to execute government works.

Investigations revealed that the accused and his family members had deposited cash totalling to Rs 4.24 crore in various bank accounts during the check-period between 2008-18. Even after demonetisation, 45.75 lakh was deposited as cash, ACB stated. “Praveen was arrested by the Valsad and Navsari ACB officials in March 2019, and was sent to judicial custody in Navsari sub-jail. He is now on bail.

Praveen Premal, joined GLDC as supervisor in 1990, and later he worked in different districts and talukas like Radhanpur, Bansakantha, Gandhinagar, Bhuj, Dahod, Dharampur, Ahwa, Valsad, Dholka in Ahmedabad rural, Amreli etc till 2016 and later he was posted as assistant director at Dharampur in Valsad district.

Earlier a cheating case were registered against him with Dholera police station in Ahmedabad Rural in April 1999, for allegedly making fake vouchers of expenses for taking the farmers on a tour for exposure and the cheating amount was of Rs 2 lakh,” said ACB deputy director N D Chauhan.

After a series of corruption cases and financial irregularities related to GSLDC were unearthed, the state government decided to wind up the entity in November 2018.