Disproportionate assets case: IAS officer arrested in Uttarakhand

According to the preliminary probe, the officer had disproportionate assets of over 522%. All of his six bank accounts were also frozen.

Published on: Jun 23, 2022, 13:49:56 IST

By Neeraj Santoshi

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The Uttarakhand vigilance department on Thursday arrested IAS officer Ram Vilas Yadav, additional secretary in the Uttarakhand government, in a disproportionate assets case.

The bureaucrat’s properties were raided in three locations. (HT File photo)

Yadav had appeared for questioning in the vigilance department on Wednesday afternoon and was later arrested the same night.

“In our preliminary investigation, we found that he has disproportionate assets of over 522%. As this is very high, we sought permission from the government to start an investigation. When we got permission in April this year, we raided his properties in Dehradun, Lucknow and Ghazipur, during which we found several documents and evidence regarding corruption by Yadav”, Amit Sinha, director, Vigilance Uttarakhand said.

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“There were many documents on which he couldn’t answer. So, we arrested him at 2:15am on Wednesday night. Today in the afternoon he will be produced before the court”, he said.

Sinha added that Yadav’s six bank accounts will be frozen.

“His properties are already being investigated. As his wife owns many properties, we are also looking into that. She was also summoned on Wednesday but she didn’t appear for questioning”, he said.

On Wednesday evening, the state government suspended Yadav for not cooperating in the investigation started by the state vigilance department.

On Tuesday, Uttarakhand high court had sought a response from the state government by June 23 on a criminal writ petition filed by Yadav seeking a stay on his arrest in the disproportionate assets case and quashing of FIR against him.

The HC also directed Yadav to cooperate in the investigation and appear before the vigilance department on Wednesday with all documents and give his statement. State vigilance department had filed an FIR against Yadav in the disproportionate assets case earlier in April this year.

Based on the complaint of one Lucknow-based person, the Uttarakhand government started an investigation against him and the Vigilance department team raided his locations in Lucknow, Dehradun and Ghazipur earlier this month.

Four years ago, Yadav was serving in Uttar Pradesh government and returned to Uttarakhand in 2019.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Santoshi
Neeraj Santoshi is the Chief of Bureau for Hindustan Times in Uttarakhand, where he leads the state reporting team while covering government, politics, environment, wildlife, Uttarakhand High Court, and issues shaping the Himalayan region. With more than two decades in journalism across conflict zones, he has covered politically sensitive regions and environmentally fragile landscapes, and focused on stories that combine public interest with in-depth storytelling. An alumnus of Pune University with a Master’s in Communication Studies, he has reported extensively from Jammu & Kashmir (2003-2010), Madhya Pradesh (2010 to 2018 ) and Uttarakhand (Since 2018), covering subjects ranging from insurgency, elections and governance to wildlife conservation, mining, climate change, agriculture, human rights and social justice. He has covered politics and legislative assemblies of both Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh over more than a decade. Before taking over as Chief of Bureau in Uttarakhand, he served as Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times in Madhya Pradesh and earlier reported for both Hindustan Times and The Indian Express in Jammu & Kashmir, where he covered state politics, environment and insurgency-related developments. Over the years, his stories have focused on environmental degradation, wildlife, illegal mining, governance and the changing social fabric of Himalayan states and Central India. He is particularly interested in long-form explanatory journalism, and stories that explore the intersection of ecology, conservation, governance and society. Outside the newsroom, Neeraj enjoys reading widely on neuroscience, consciousness studies, Artificial Intelligence and quantum physics, with a special interest in Kashmiri Tantric Shaivist traditions. He is also passionate about wildlife, mountaineering and the Himalayas, interests that continue to inform his reporting and deepen his understanding of the region he covers.Read More

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