Surat: Anticipatory bail plea of food safety officer Mohammad Zuber Gulam Mustafa Shaikh (58) in connection with a complaint lodged against him under disproportionate assets case was rejected by a special ACB Judge in Surat on Thursday.
According to the case, Surat ACB Police Inspector K J Choudhary lodged a complaint against the accused on November, 13, 2020 under various sections of Prevention and Corruption Act, 1988 as amended Act 2018.
As per the complaint, Shaikh has disproportionate property to the tune of Rs42.44 lakh and the investigation into his unaccounted wealth has been on since October, 2015. During a search in the accused’s house goods worth Rs 6.82 lakh were confiscated.
Shaikh is a senior food safety officer (Class-II) and has been government service since 1991. He has been posted at Bhuj since 2017.
“Accused officer has not received any memo or notice from the department, nor has any departmental inquiry been initiated against him. He holds a clean record while also was appreciated for his performance while working with the Chief Minister Office,” advocate of the accused argued in the court.
After a delay of four years, an offence was registered against the applicant to which the accused has given satisfactory explanation with regard to the property in question, he further said.
Public Prosecutor D V Dave argued that in 2015 one application was filed against Shaikh with regard to him demanding bribe. The department, thereafter, started inquiry against him and in course of inquiry, found that during his service in that period, he amassed property worth more than Rs 42 lakh not proportionate to his known source of income or could five satisfactory explanation for it. “Therefore, the ACB registered an offence on basis of the complaint after due inquiry and the police interrogation of the accused officer is necessary,” Dave said.
“The accused is a government employee and if he is released on bail, there is a possibility of him tempering evidence and hampering with witnesses. Again, granting his application permission will send out a wrong message to the society and therefore, his plea cannot be allowed,” the court observed.