The Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) vigilance department Monday evening raided the private residence of Aplana Mitra four days after she took voluntary retirement from the special city engineer’s post in the civic body and allegedly seized over 40 files. The vigilance department raided Mitra’s residence near Kotecha Chowk in Rajkot. A senior RMC officer told The Indian Express: “We had inputs that even after July 31, 2024 which was her last working day as special city engineer (water management cell) of the RMC, she was signing RMC files with retrospective effect at her residence. After taking voluntary retirement from service (VRS), she can’t keep any RMC files at her residence nor can she sign any. The vigilance department seized some 45 RMC files from her residence during the raid.” Mitra, however, said that some unidentified person dropped a bunch of files at her residence while she was away. “I was away for some work. After I returned home, our building department manager Bhumi Parmar arrived and told me that she had information about some files lying at my residence. I said there were none… We went upstairs to the living room and noticed four-five bunches of files. I told Bhumi that I know nothing about this. She enquired with my mother-in-law who also confirmed that I was not at home when someone delivered those files,” Mitra told the media. Mitra added: “I had not called for any files, nor have I signed any of them. I don’t even know about the files in those bunches. Earlier, I held the charge of waterworks and drainage departments. After I retired, the deputy engineer had requested me to certify operations and maintenance works of pumping stations. But I had told (the engineer) that I can’t do that as I was no longer with the RMC.” Mitra had overseen several affordable RMC housing projects and conversion of Mahatma Gandhi Vidyalaya into Gandhi museum. She was also part of a panel constituted by then municipal commissioner Anand Patel in March this year over allegations that the kin of two BJP corporators were among those who were allotted houses by RMC after demolition of their huts. Mitra, meanwhile, said that she had taken VRS due to personal reasons. “In fact, I had also resigned two-three years ago but the then municipal commissioners asked me to stay for some time… I had resigned due to family reasons as my daughter lives in the US and I need to visit her. I also have to take care of my mother-in-law as she has lost her eyesight,” Mitra, whose husband is a doctor, said. She said as CCTV cameras are installed at her residence, the person who came to her house would be visible in the footage.
