IAS Officer K. Rajesh Sacked: Gujarat Govt Orders Compulsory Retirement Over Corruption

The Gujarat government has formally issued an order imposing compulsory retirement on former District Collector and 2011-batch IAS officer Kankipati Rajesh (who is under suspension) following extensive criminal investigations into bribery, illegal land allotments, and money laundering.

The administrative decision ends a high-profile disciplinary process against the bureaucrat after central investigating agencies unravelled a wide-ranging corruption network operating during his posting in Surendranagar district.

Illegal Gun Licences and Land Scandals

Most of the charges against K Rajesh are related to his tenure as District Collector of Surendranagar between April 2018 and June 2021. Investigators found that he routinely accepted bribes to sanction arm licences to ineligible applicants, bypassing mandatory police verifications and security protocols.

Central agency probes also uncovered significant financial irregularities regarding public land allocation. Rajesh allegedly bypassed statutory norms to transfer government plots to private individuals in exchange for kickbacks. To mask the illicit cash flow, bribes were channelled through middlemen and dummy bank accounts—including fake billing operations tied to a Surat-based cloth business.

CBI Arrest and ED Prosecution

The scale of financial misconduct triggered simultaneous proceedings by central enforcement bodies:

•    CBI Investigation: The Central Bureau of Investigation registered a criminal case against Rajesh in May 2022 following searches across his premises in Gandhinagar and Andhra Pradesh. He was taken into custody by the agency in July 2022 after failing to cooperate during questioning.

•    ED Probe: The Enforcement Directorate subsequently took custody of the officer in August 2022 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), attaching his personal assets and filing a formal prosecution complaint.

Following his arrest, the state administration placed Rajesh under immediate suspension.

Crackdown on Bureaucratic Misconduct

Invoking civil service conduct rules and public interest provisions, the Gujarat administration finalized his service termination through compulsory retirement, effectively ending his administrative career.

Official records confirm that another Gujarat-cadre bureaucrat previously under public scrutiny, Dr. Gaurav Dahiya (2010 batch), was not subjected to compulsory retirement. Dahiya, who faced departmental inquiries over allegations of bigamy and personal misconduct, completed his suspension period and was reinstated to state service in July 2023.