Former IAS Sanjay Gupta allegedly involved in the Rs113 crore Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar Metro Rail project was sent to judicial custody on Tuesday. The court had given remand for four days on Friday. However, the CID crime did not demand further remand of Gupta and another accused Radhesh Bhatt.
Meanwhile, Gupta told the court that he was pressurised during remand. He also sought protection from court against news coverage of ongoing investigation as the case is sub-judice. Gupta’s lawyer said in the court that the accused would like to give statement under CRPC 281 before court. The next hearing for the much-talked about case in the State administrative circles of Gujarat is scheduled on Thursday. By the time, both the accused — Gupta and Bhatt have been sent to jail, said a source in Gandhinagar CID Crime branch.
Gupta’s meteoric rise to affluence has always been the subject of gossip among his former colleagues and juniors with the Gujarat Government. The senior IAS officer turned industrialist had headed the Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar Metro rail from 2011 to 2013 as chairman. A go-getter, 1985 batch IAS officer also did a stint heading the Gujarat Chief Minister’s Office (CMO). He won acclaim for his successful piloting of the Gujarat State Petroleum Development Corporation (GSPC) from an infant to a livewire company during his tenure as MD from 1998 to 2002.
He was also instrumental in establishing an intra-Gujarat gas pipeline company called Gujarat State Petronet. He however, resigned from civil services after he was transferred to relatively less important Sangeet Natak Akadami and joined Adani Group as CEO of its infrastructure division. After a short stint there, he launched his own hospitality venture — Neesa Group with hotels and resorts under the Cambay brand. The NEESA group has Cambay as its flagship brand which owns around eight luxurious hotels and two golf properties in different cities across the nation. A civil engineer from IIT Roorkee and fellow from Wharton School, Gupta’s woes began in 2011 with IT authorities raiding his hotel properties.
The case of alleged irregularities was investigated by additional DGP, State CID (crime) Meera Ramniwas and the arrest was made based on her findings. Gupta is expected to be produced in court on Friday. The MEGA (Metro for Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad) project was launched by the Gujarat Government in 2010. Gupta in the capacity of its chairman had reportedly awarded questionable contracts to various companies for creating the routes, soil testing and land filling, according to the case reportedly made out against him.