The Mumbai unit of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a case and conducted a search operation against a senior officer of the Indian Defence Estates Service (IDES) for alleged misconduct while serving as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Cantonment Board in Deolali, Nashik.
According to CBI officials, the probe started on a complaint from a Defence Ministry vigilance official, stating that in 2021, the officer purchased six pieces of land in Nashik for roughly ₹54 lakh under his parents’ names. These plots were part of a private land developer’s layout design, which the officer had only approved a few weeks before. According to sources, the complaint also claimed that the officer’s parents later gave the officer’s wife special power of attorney over the six properties.
The CBI filed a case against the IDES official last Thursday, citing a written complaint dated May 3 from the Defence Ministry’s Deputy Secretary (Vigilance) in New Delhi.
According to a CBI source, the complaint and attached documents show that the accused officer, a 2012 batch IDES officer, allegedly approved a layout plan in Bhagur, Deolali, owned by a Nashik-based land developer, while serving as CEO-cum-Member Secretary of the Cantonment Board, Deolali, Nashik, in 2021. The approval was given on August 2, 2021, and the Cantonment Board provided their approval via letter on August 11, 2021. A week later, on August 18, 2021, the accused officer stepped down as CEO of the Cantonment Board, Deolali, due to a transfer to Bangalore.
“Immediately thereafter, six plots of land, each costing ₹9 lakh, which are within the boundary of the Cantonment Board, Deolali, were allegedly purchased in the name of the parents of the accused officer,” according to a CBI source. On August 2, 2021, the accused official, as CEO of the Deolali Cantonment Board, approved a layout proposal that included these six properties.
The source also stated that the accused officer allegedly classified 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,” the source added.
The source confirmed that the facts presented in the complaint revealed the commission of violations, which are currently being investigated. A search was also carried out in connection with the case. According to the source, the CBI had earlier received consent from the Defence Ministry to probe the suspected anomalies.
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