K Rajesh, the arrested IAS officer will be in CBI custody till Monday, a special CBI court in Ahmedabad ruled. IAS officer K Rajesh, arrested on the night of 13th July in connection with a bribery case shall be in the custody of the agency for four days custody.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had produced Rajesh before the court on 14th July and sought 10 days remand. The agency said that it needs to take K Rajesh to three to four locations places where he had worked for collecting the evidence in connection with the corruption complaints lodged with the State government.
The agency argued that it needs to investigate the bank statements of the accused former collector of Surendranagar as well as those of his family. The officer is fighting the allegations of issuing 271 gun licenses in return of favour. He is also facing allegations about receiving donations thought to be in a coercive manner. A complaint about illegally allotting land to a solar company also is raised against the accused.
The lawyer of the Andhra native K Rajesh has denied all the allegations saying the agency has found nothing in the bank statements even after a thorough investigation. He said the officer is a victim of a conspiracy of some revenue officials against whom the IAS officer had initiated stringent action. Rajesh also requested to be allowed to address the court maintaining that the allegations of “failing to co-operate” by the agency were not true.
The 2011 batch IAS officer, Kankipati Rajesh was District Collector Surendranagar and later transferred as joint secretary in GAD, Sachivalaya.
Rafiq Memon, believed to be an associate and conduit of the accused was arrested by the CBI around two months back on May 19. A cloth merchant of Surat, Rafiq Memon is accused of working as an agent for Rajesh in financial irregularities and transferring the bribe money for granting arms to his bank account.
Meanwhile, as per the service rules, the government has initiated the suspension process. The rules stipulate that any officer in the police custody for more than 48 hours to be suspended.
