Suspended Anand deputy mamlatdar arrested in missing land file case

Suspended deputy mamlatdar J D Patel was arrested by the Anand Local Crime Branch (LCB) on Sunday in connection with a missing land file linked to alleged illegal land conversion in Borsad. The arrest follows a three-and-a-half-month investigation into the disappearance of official documents from the Anand collectorate's records department.

The case concerns 168 gunthas of government land in Borsad, classified as ‘new tenure’ and listed under the Hijrat category—land abandoned by former owners who migrated. A guntha is equivalent to 1,089 square feet or 101.17 square metres.

The file was reported missing after a complaint was lodged at the Anand City Police Station. The investigation revealed that the land, though under new tenure, had been converted to non-agricultural use without proper authorisation, allegedly resulting in financial losses to the state exchequer.

File tampering and forged entry

In 2023, an applicant in Borsad accused deputy mamlatdar Patel and then resident additional collector Ketkiben Vyas of facilitating the illegal conversion. The matter was escalated to the Revenue Department and Gujarat Vigilance Commission. A subsequent inquiry, led by the sub-divisional magistrate of Borsad, flagged irregularities in the process.

 When officials attempted to retrieve the file to examine who approved the conversion, it was found missing. Deputy collector Mitaben Dodiya, appointed as inquiry officer, confirmed the file could not be traced.

On March 1, 2025, deputy mamlatdar Hiren Makwana filed a formal complaint, leading to the registration of an FIR. The LCB took over the investigation, which found that the file had been withdrawn on March 21, 2023, under a forged signature in the movement register and never returned.

Fingerprint evidence and alleged bribery

Investigators also found that the land record updates in the 7/12 extract required Patel’s fingerprint. A fingerprint scanner was recovered from the car of Patel’s associate, Harish Chavda. According to police, Patel allegedly used the scanner to provide biometric approval from the vehicle after receiving bribes.

Statements from multiple employees of the collectorate were recorded, and relevant documents were seized. The investigation confirmed that the missing file had been summoned during Patel’s tenure in the collector’s office.

He was arrested late Sunday night. Police have initiated the process to seek his remand for further interrogation, according to officials.

Further inquiry expected

Police have not ruled out the involvement of additional officials. “Further interrogation will reveal the motive behind the file’s disappearance and whether others were complicit,” said an officer involved in the investigation. 

Officials in the collectorate have also raised concerns about Patel’s assets, including a bungalow in the upscale Shaligram Green locality near Rambhai Kaka Road. Investigators noted that non-agricultural permissions only appeared in the land records after Patel’s fingerprint was added, suggesting a potential pattern of misuse of authority. A high-level inquiry into his assets is likely.

The police also linked Patel to an earlier case involving a viral objectionable video of the then Anand collector, which also named Vyas and a private individual.