Scam Unveiled: Bogus ‘Government Office’ Exposed in Bodeli

Development Projects in Chhota Udaipur After exposing various irregularities, Chhota Udaipur District’s Bodeli witnessed the development of a significant government office, created by the Executive Engineer of the Irrigation Project Division. The records reveal fraudulent practices such as bogus paperwork, fake Stamps, and false applications in which 93 government jobs were approved by the government, totaling more than ₹4.15 crore. In general, for an ordinary citizen to file an application, they would have to visit 7 offices, where such fraudulent practices have been discovered.

Legal Actions against Accused

Following these revelations, on July 26, 2021, an FIR was filed based on these fraudulent activities in Bodeli. The accused Sandeep Rajput and Abubakar Jakirhusen Sayed were arrested and remanded for 12 days. In Bodeli, a meeting of the Irrigation Project Division-2 chaired by Sachinkumar, the President of the Beneficiary Association, discussed 12 works of the Border Village Scheme for the year 2023-24, with a cost of ₹37,47,800. Sachinkumar had also submitted a similar application earlier, receiving immediate approval.

Examination of Government Offices 

It is reported that there is no government office in Bodeli where such fraudulent activities took place. This has raised concerns about whether any officials or offices in Bodeli were left unchecked. Investigations into previous applications in 2021-22 found that 40 works, costing ₹1,97,37,785, were immediately approved without any irregularities. In 2022-23, 53 works of the Irrigation Project Division-2 were approved by Vin. C. Gamit and R. J. Jadeja for ₹2,18,17,130.

Transparency in Beneficiary Offices 

Generally, development work is done by technical officials like the Executive Engineer, Assistant Engineer, third-party contractors, and others. There is no payment involved in such practices. However, when a file is moved from one table to another, it can lead to financial irregularities. During payments, the bills also require verification. The entire process is supposed to be transparent, but questions remain about whether anyone benefited from these practices.

Stamp and Bank Account Creation 

The applications for the beneficiaries were previously submitted to the office of the Executive Engineer, Irrigation Project Division, Bodeli. Payments were also made in this office. Stamps were made without orders from the office, and bank accounts were created without the required documents.