CBI conducts searches at premises of IDES officer booked for misconduct

CBI conducts searches at IDES officer's premises in Nashik for alleged misconduct over land purchase; officer's parents bought plots approved by him.

MUMBAI: The anti-corruption branch of the Central Bureau of Investigation carried out searches at the premises of a senior Indian Defence Estates Service officer (IDES) for the alleged misconduct during his tenure as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Cantonment Board in Deolali, Nashik, in 2021.

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The CBI began its probe on a complaint from a Defence Ministry vigilance official against the accused IDES officer, Ajay Kumar, on allegations that in 2021, he purchased six plots for ₹54 lakh under his parent’s name in Nashik. These plots were part of a layout plan belonging to a private land developer, which the officer had approved just weeks prior.

Later, the special power of attorney was allegedly given by the officer’s parents to his wife, the sources said. The CBI’s searches were conducted at the residential premises of the accused officer at Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) and Jamui (Bihar), in which certain property documents were seized that are being scrutinised for evidentiary value, if any, agency sources said.

The CBI registered a case against the IDES officer last Thursday, based on a written complaint, dated May 3, from the Defence Ministry’s Deputy Secretary (Vigilance), New Delhi. The facts mentioned in the defence ministry’s complaint, along with attached documents, revealed that the accused IDES officer, while serving as CEO-cum-Member Secretary of the Cantonment Board, Deolali, Nashik in 2021 had allegedly approved a layout plan located in Bhagur, Deolali and owned by a Nashik-based land developer, a CBI source said. The approval was granted on August 2, 2021.

Subsequently, the Cantonment Board approved a letter on August 11, 2021. A week after the grant of the approval, the accused officer relinquished his charge as the CEO of the Cantonment Board, Deolali, as he had been transferred to Bangalore.

Immediately after, 6 plots of land costing ₹9 lakh each, which are within the boundary of the Cantonment Board, were allegedly purchased in the name of the parents of the accused officer, the CBI source said.

“These six plots were part of the layout plan of the land developer which was approved by the accused officer in his capacity of being the CEO-cum-Member-Secretary of the Deolali Cantonment Board on August 2, 2021,” the source said. The source pointed out that the accused officer allegedly showed his parents as dependents, with no source of income, via a certificate in June 2018.

“Further, the Special Power of Attorney, dated September 16, 2021, in respect of these six properties was given by the officer’s parents in the name of his wife,” said the source. The source said, “The facts mentioned in the complaint disclosed the commission of offences and are being probed.” The CBI had earlier acquired the approval from the Defence Ministry to probe the alleged irregularities, the source said.