CBI conducts searches at Gujarat IAS officer's premises in bribery case

A merchant and Gujarat cadre IAS officer K Rajesh's middleman, who allegedly used to collect bribe money for him, has been arrested from Surat, the CBI said.

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New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday (May 20) registered a case against Gujarat cadre IAS officer K Rajesh in connection with bribery charges against him. The central agency had conducted searches at Rajesh's residence in Gandhinagar and some other premises in Surat as well as at his native place in Andhra Pradesh on late Thursday night. Mohammed Rafiq Memon, a merchant and IAS officer's middleman, who allegedly used to collect bribe money for him, has been arrested from Surat, the CBI said. Memon will be produced before the Special Court, CBI Cases in Ahmedabad. 

As per the central probe agency, they received a complaint against K Rajesh that when he served as the collector of Surendranagar district, he had allegedly taken a bribe in land deals and in sanctioning weapon licenses to ineligible persons. Rajesh, a 2011-batch IAS officer, is currently appointed as the joint secretary in the General Administration Department of the Gujarat government in Gandhinagar.

A preliminary inquiry was earlier registered on the request of the Gujarat government in the matter, the CBI said.