Greater Noida: A former CEO of Yamuna Authority,
P C Gupta, the main accused in a Rs 126-crore land scam, was arrested from Madhya Pradesh’s Datia district on Friday.
Gupta was arrested at 8.30pm from Shri Pitambara Peeth in Datia where he had gone with his wife Rekha and his driver.
The police had filed an FIR against Gupta and 20 others on June 3 for acquiring 57.15 hectares of land in the YEIDA area at an inflated price from relatives and acquaintances, though the land actually had no utility. The FIR states that Gupta informed his relatives and acquaintances about the acquisition in advance, and the latter bought the land from farmers. YEIDA then acquired the land from them at double the rates in 2013-14 when Gupta was CEO.
According to police, Gupta had fled his house in Greater Noida a day before the FIR was filed. He travelled to four states, including UP, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
While his mobile phone remained switched off, police had been chasing him since the very beginning. SSP, Gautam Budh Nagar, Ajay Pal Sharma told TOI that a police team from Kasna police station had been chasing Gupta since the day the FIR was lodged.
Police sources said Gupta first travelled to Lucknow from where he went to Udaipur in Rajasthan. After Udaipur, his location was found to be in Surat and then in Jaipur. From Jaipur, Gupta travelled to Madhya Pradesh’s Guna and finally to Datia.
“Gupta spent a few days in different hotels in all these places. His movement and that of his relatives were continuously monitored,” an officer said.
Even as police were closely monitoring him, Gupta gave many a misses to them. There was also a concern that he might flee to his son’s place in UK.
Sources said the police have at least four more persons on its radar and more arrests are likely soon. Amit Srivastava, circle officer, Greater Noida 1, said police would now seek a transit remand for Gupta from the Datia court after which he will be taken to the anti-corruption court in Meerut. The court in Meerut is likely to sent him in judicial custody.
The Greater Noida police then will have to seek his custody.
Divisional commissioner Prabhat Kumar, on whose directions an FIR was lodged against Gupta, said that it was just the “tip of the iceberg.” “I had taken up the matter with the chief minister and he was very critical of what had happened. He directed that all should be jailed. I was in touch with the DGP and the ADG (Meerut) throughout,” he said.
He further said that the latest inquiry ordered by YEIDA in Hathras might reveal a bigger scam. TOI had reported on Thursday that another land purchase deal on similar modus operandi has come under the commissioner’s scanner who ordered an inquiry into the matter.