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Anand Municipal Corporation Chief Officer Pankaj Barot sentenced to 9 years, BJP President saved
Anand, 15 April 2025
Despite a bribery case against Chairman Pragnesh Patel in 2016, BJP gave him posts, in 2015 shops were enlarged by incurring a loss of 29 lakhs and the scam happened in 2014 when Pankaj Barot was posted in Petlad Municipality. Even after ten years, the governments of Anandiben Patel, Vijay Rupani and Bhupendra Patel turned a blind eye to the corrupt. The Anand case is a clear example of how BJP leaders are corrupt and how their corruption is hidden by Chief Ministers and party presidents. This is the birthplace of Sardar Patel. Lotus is seen blooming amidst the mud of corruption in Gujarat.
Anand official Pankaj Barot was given compulsory retirement by the government on July 20, 2014, when he was serving in Petlad Nagar Palika. Eight months later, it was found that he was given some beverage. The citizen had sought information under RTI. It came to light that Pankaj Barot has been given compulsory retirement.
ACB registered case after High Court threatened ACB for keeping quiet under political pressure
13 Shop Scam
Though a complaint was filed against BJP leaders in the shop scam, they were not caught red-handed. Despite having detailed information, Bhupendra Patel’s government and BJP president Chandrakant Patil did not take action.
In Anand Nagar Palika, BJP president Pragya Patel, chief officer Pankaj Barot and other officials allotted shops to shopkeepers in the year 2015. In 2015, a 15-foot valuable space was allotted in an auction in a shopping center near the new bus stand in Anand, without any documents. They allotted space for expansion of shops, due to which they suffered a loss of Rs 100 crore. Rs 29 lakh
A scam was done in allocating space by charging Rs 1000 per seat. Rs 50 thousand was looted from a businessman.
Corruption of BJP leaders
In this regard, a case was registered in ACB in 2016 against 18 people including the then BJP President Pragya Patel and Chief Officer Pankaj Barot. The then Chief Officer Pankaj Barot was serving in Petlad Municipality in 2014. The government had imposed compulsory retirement. Allegations were also made against Pankaj Barot in other districts. It is learned that the state government has implemented compulsory retirement considering the matter serious, while the retirement period is still left.
Shirpaav
Instead of expelling Anand’s former President Pragnesh, he was crowned. Pragnesh Patel was appointed Vice President of Gujarat Municipal Council. Chief Minister Rupani knew all this but he turned a blind eye.
Property worth 3 crore sold for 3 lakhs
The current market value of the land of 13 shops is Rs. 1,00,000. It is 3 to 4 crores. The price of which was fixed at 3 lakhs. BJP leaders wanted to loot people’s property for 3 lakhs instead of 3 crores by considering the lotus garden of Dal Tarawadi as a farm. They calculated the price and sold the government property at a lower price without anyone’s knowledge.
The BJP leaders misused their power and caused loss to the government treasury by taking bribes from shopkeepers. The shopkeepers also got financial benefit by renting out their shops at a price lower than the market.
Approval from the Urban Development Department and Khadi Committee was necessary.
Auction
If there was an auction, the municipality would have received a revenue of Rs 10 lakh. Rs 29.11 lakh. The ACB had sought a report from the District Land Price Committee regarding the loss. The collector estimated the price of this land to be Rs 1.50 crore. Its number was stated to be 29.11 lakh. So if there was an auction, more than 29.11 lakhs could have been received. As per the assessment of the government department, the price of a shop 81.83 meters long and 3.56 meters wide is Rs 1.5 lakhs. It comes to 2,98,939. But the municipal officials collected Rs 1000. Rs 9,75,000 was seized from 13 turbaned shopkeepers and Rs 1,00,000 from other shopkeepers. This amount was deposited with the municipality on a lease of Rs 10 lakhs. 5. This resulted in an estimated loss of Rs 29,11,207 to the government treasury.
Complainant
When the complaint was not registered by the ACB, complainant Jignesh Vasant Patel filed a suit in the High Court. The court asked to register the case. The bribery bureau was suppressing the bribery case. No complaint was registered. There was a lot of delay in collecting evidence. A case of contempt of court was registered against the ACB. After a year of investigation and chargesheet, the trial was going on in the High Court. The court ordered to register the case within a month.
Drunk confession
The then Executive Committee Chairman Anil Patel admitted in a drunken state that he had paid Rs 10 lakh. Rs 100,000 was sanctioned to provide land for shops in the premises located at the new bus stand. He committed corruption by taking 75,000 turbans and renting them out. The video of which was released. After this, the BJP took immediate action against him and suspended him from the party. Corruption was already being promoted by the officials regarding the sale of shops. He decided to close the shop and give it to the neighbor.
Who was charged with the crime?
Crime against the Chief Officer – Pankaj Ishwar
tal Barot.
Crime against Executive Committee Chairman Anil Natu Patel.
Executive Committee members are Pragnesh Arvind Patel, Deepen Jayanti Patel, Purushottam Das Lalji Rohit.
Crime was registered against Arvind Lallubhai Chavda, Pankil Ghanshyam Patel, Shwetal Arvind Patel and Prabhuji Viraji Vanzara. Against whom BJP and other parties have not taken any political action.
Shop owner
A case was registered against Arif Iqbal Vohra, Prabhudas Bhagwan Thakkar, Yasin Abdul Sattar Vohra, Aslam Abdul Vohra,
Shobhana Bharat Bhavsar, Anand Narayan, Hitendra Prabhu Thakkar, Mohan Kundan Tejwani, Sadiq Ali Gauhar Ali Syed.
Earlier
Former BJP general secretary and former sarpanch of Pamol village Shailesh Chaturbhai Patel in Borsad taluka of Anand was sentenced to one year imprisonment by Borsad court in check return case.
BJP general secretary Vishal Patel said in his resignation that five people who joined BJP from Congress in Anklav city have defamed his family. This also caused hindrance in business. Anand district president Rajesh Patel was also informed about this, but nothing happened, so he left BJP. (Google translation from Gujarati)
