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Retired Gujarat cadre IAS officer S K Langa was arrested by the state police from Mount Abu in Rajasthan Tuesday from a house allegedly in the name of former Congress Lok Sabha lawmaker late B K Gadhvi.
While addressing a press conference on the arrest of Langa, Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Gandhinagar Range, Abhay Chudasama said Wednesday their probe so far has found that the retired IAS officer has caused a loss of “over Rs 20 crore” to the state exchequer as they conducted their probe in Pethapur and Mulasana in Gandhinagar.
He added the police are seeking 14 days’ remand of the former Gandhinagar collector.
Langa, who had been purportedly missing since an offence against him was lodged, was arrested after the SIT formed to probe the case claimed it came to know that he may be in Mount Abu following “technical inputs”.
Langa was arrested for allegedly indulging in criminal misconduct as a public servant and causing losses to the tune of crores of rupees to the state exchequer. Langa has been accused of violating rules and legal provisions related to granting non-agricultural status to land in the Gandhinagar district.
Langa is expected to be produced before a Gandhinagar court later in the day.
A complaint against Langa, who was posted as the Gandhinagar district collector between April 2018 and September 2019, was registered by an official from the district collectorate. The First Information Report was registered on May 17 and the then secretary to Langa and the then resident additional collector (RAC) of Gandhinagar were also named as accused in the FIR.
Langa and the two others were booked under sections 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant), 168 (public servant unlawfully engaging in trade), 193 (false evidence), 196 (using evidence known to be false), 465 (forgery), 466 (forgery of record of public register), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document) and 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC as well as under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
As per the FIR, the State Government had appointed retired IAS officer Vinay Vyasa as a special inquiry officer since a number of decisions taken by Langa when he was the collector had to be inquired into. Vyasa had submitted an interim report, recommending that legal action be initiated against Langa, his secretary at the time and the then RAC.
On May 23, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed to probe the case.
Chudasama added they have found benami properties or disproportionate assets linked to Langa, including “four bungalows in Junagadh, approximately 30 acres of land in Matar (Kheda), three land parcels around Ahmedabad in the name of his family members”. “He has a rice mill, has a flat and bungalow in Ahmedabad, and is also a partner in a company called Amiraj Buildcon,” the IGP added.
Chudasama said, “For the Matar asset, the accused Langa has shown himself falsely as a farmer with false documents. We have conducted a probe at his native of Shiva Gam in Bhanvad taluka of Jamnagar where we found no such record (of being a farmer).”
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