Gujarat: Project engineer of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan caught accepting bribe, 2.27 cr found in his bank locker

The anti-corruption bureau has arrested the state project engineer of ‘Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan’ (universal education campaign) while accepting a bribe of Rs 1.21 lakh from a school building contractor and recovered from his bank locker Rs 2.27 crore in cash and 300 grams of gold. This is the highest ever unaccounted cash recovered by the anti-corruption bureau in its history.

The project engineer of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Nipun Choksi, was sent in police remand for two days following his arrest. Choksi was caught red-hand while accepting Rs 1.21 lakh as bribe from a contractor to clear the bills raised towards constructing buildings of a boys' and a girls' hostels in north Gujarat.

The project engineer Choksi had demanded a commission of 1.5 per cent of the total bill amount from the contractor to clear the payment for the construction of a boy’s hostel in Sami taluka and a girl’s school in Sankheshwar taluka of Patan district. The contractor then lodged a complaint with the anti-corruption bureau.

Investigation is on to find out if the project engineer had also made other investments with the ill-gotten money.

State education minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama had recently released a book written by Nipun Choksi at a function held in the Staff Training College in Gandhinagar.