Gujarat government suspends IAS officer arrested by ED in graft case

The Gujarat government has suspended IAS officer and former District Collector of Surendranagar Rajendrakumar Patel following his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a bribery-linked money laundering case, officials said on Monday (January 5, 2026).

Mr. Patel, a 2015-batch IAS officer, was arrested by the ED on January 2. On the same day, a special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) remanded him to the agency’s custody till January 7.

In an order, the State’s General Administration Department (GAD) said Mr. Patel was placed under suspension as his period of custody had exceeded 48 hours. “Now, therefore, Patel is deemed to have been placed under suspension with effect from January 2 in terms of sub-rule (2) of Rule 3 of the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969, until further orders,” the order stated.

Mr. Patel, who was last posted as the Collector of Surendranagar, had been transferred without a posting last month following the arrest of deputy mamlatdar (Revenue Officer) Chandrasingh Mori from his office by the ED in a related money laundering case arising out of alleged bribery.

Subsequently, the Central agency arrested Patel on January 2. The ED is probing alleged money laundering involving Mr. Patel, Mr. Mori and others after registering an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) under the PMLA.

According to the ED, Mr. Patel allegedly fixed bribe rates ranging between ₹5 and ₹10 per square metre for granting approvals for change of land use (CLU). The agency claimed that bribes were systematically demanded and collected as “speed money” to expedite CLU applications and were routed through a network of intermediaries operating from the District Collector’s office.

The ED further alleged that a hisaab (account) of bribe collections was maintained and periodically shared with the District Collector’s personal assistant, as indicated by digital evidence recovered during the investigation.

So far, the probe has traced more than 800 CLU applications in which bribes were allegedly paid, leading to the generation of proceeds of crime exceeding ₹10 crore, the agency said. The ED has described Mr. Patel as the key beneficiary and final decision-maker in the bribery-linked money laundering racket related to CLU approvals.