AHMEDABAD: Former home minister and ex-chairman of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) Vipul Chaudhary was arrested by CID (crime) sleuths late on Saturday evening from his home in Sector-7 in Gandhinagar for his alleged role in a Rs 14.80 crore embezzlement case involving bonus of employees of Doodhsagar Dairy Cooperative in Mehsana.
An official statement of CID states that when Chaudhary was chairman of Doodhsagar Dairy, a complaint of embezzlement was filed against him with B Division police of Mehsana city in 2014.
According to the complaint, he had allegedly embezzled Rs 22.50 cr in sending fodder to drought hit Maharashtra.
A tribunal court had on July 29, 2019 directed Chaudhary to pay 40% of the amount which was fixed at Rs 9.08 crore before October 19, 2019.
It is alleged that to pay the amount, Chaudhary along with other accused, including present chairman of Doodhsagar Dairy Asha Thakor, vice-chairman Moghji Patel and managing director N J Bakshi — and 30 other employers hatched a conspiracy and decided to pay bonus of more than one salary.
They paid the bonus of Rs 14.80 crore to 1,932 staffers but later lured the staffers to invest back in the firm.
When the staffers invested the bonus, Chaudhary and others allegedly misused it, said an officer of CID (crime).
They were booked by CID (crime) under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Prevention of Corruption Act for breach of trust and criminal conspiracy among other offences, said an officer.
Sources in cooperative sector said that Chaudhary’s arrest took place ahead of elections in Doodhsagar Dairy in January.
He also sent around 350 persons to Singhu borders where farmers from Punjab have been protesting against three bills of agriculture sector by the Union government.