‘In jail,top Gujarat IAS officer may have plans to flee India’

The recovery of the laptop and the evidence sourced from it by the officials of the Directorate of Forensic Science (DFS) was one of the reasons considered by the Gujarat High Court while refusing him bail recently in a graft case registered against him by the state CID (Crime).

In his judgment denying bail to Sharma,Justice J B Pardiwala says: “I… cannot ignore the fact that certain items like laptop,mobile phone,deed of conveyance,etc. were recovered from the possession of the accused-applicant from the said hotel in New Delhi. As per the report of the Directorate of Forensic Science laboratory,Gandhinagar,there were some chats on the laptop relating to obtaining another passport,seeking asylum option,etc”.

Incidentally,the state CID (Crime) had moved an application in a Rajkot court last week,seeking permission to collect Sharma’s DNA samples,saying he might flee India on a fake passport. The CID had even submitted that Sharma might undergo plastic surgery to change his appearance.

At present,Sharma is an accused in a number of cases registered against him in connection with illegal land allotment to private companies as Kutch district collector.

Sharma was granted bail by the Supreme Court in the first case registered against him. After that,on February 14 this year,he was arrested by Gujarat Police from a hotel in Delhi. He had allegedly rented a room in the hotel,Southern Regency,introducing himself as Paramjit Singh Sandhu of Punjab. As identity proof,Sharma had allegedly produced a fake driving licence by the same name but having his photograph. Police had seized a laptop from him,which was sent to the DFS.

“The tendency which the accused-applicant has displayed has shaken the confidence of this court. It is difficult to come to a prima facie conclusion that he would be available for trial. Serious apprehension of accused fleeing from justice has been expressed,more particularly,keeping in mind his position and status in the society and the resources available with the accused-applicant,” the HC observed while rejecting Sharma’s bail application.

Sharma is accused of misusing his authority as Kutch district collector and of illegal allotment of substantial land to a private company,M/s.Wellspun India Limited.

While rejecting Sharma’s bail plea,the HC expressed its surprise at the state government not registering the offence against the company. “The question which is haunting the mind

‘In jail,top IAS officer Pradeep Sharma may have plans to flee India’of this court is as to why no action has been taken against the company in whose favour the parcels of lands came to be allotted and that too huge ones,” the court observed.

If the state government is so much concerned about the loss to the public exchequer or revenue,why no concrete steps have been taken to date to recall the orders of allotment of lands,the court asked.

Following queries by the court,Advocate General Kamal Trivedi had made a statement that the state government would “not turn a blind eye” to those aspects referred to by the court.

The court then observed,“I hope and trust that the state government takes the statement made by the learned advocate general at the bar seriously.”