Indian Express: Rajkot: Monday,9 October 2023.
A probe has been launched by police after a social worker in Porbandar submitted an application alleging that former municipality president Sarju Karia indulged in favouritism while allotting a ground to an organisation headed by his younger brother Jignesh for organising garba. BJP leader Karia and his younger brother have refuted the allegations.
Social worker Dinesh Mandaviya sent the application to Porbandar Superintendent of Police Bhagirathsinh Jadeja Thursday and also attached to it documents, which he said, he had obtained from the civic body under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
In his application, Mandaviya underlined that the Smasta Porbandar Jilla Koli Samaj (SPJKS), an organisation of Koli community which has been recognised under the Other Backward Class (OBC) category, had filed an application with the Porbandar Municipality on August 31, requesting the allocation of a party plot on Chowpaty Ground for organising Navratri Garba.
On September 12, Shree Raghukul Parivar (SRP), an organisation of the Lohana community in Porbandar, applied for the same ground for organising Roomzoom Navratri, a garba event from October 15 to October 22. While the SPJKS application filed 12 days ago was pending, the municipality’s market inspector gave a favourable opinion about the SRP’s application on the day it was filed and the president approved it the same day. The SRP completed formalities by depositing Rs 2.38 lakh with the civic body on September 16, Mandaviya alleged, citing the documents.
Sarju Karia’s tenure as the president of the BJP-ruled civic body ended September 14, and Chetna Tiwari was elected his successor.
Documents obtained through RTI show that Rajesh Prataprai Badiyani had applied on behalf of the SRP while Jignesh Karia is the project chairman of Roomzoom Rasotsava 2023, said Mandaviya.
In his application, Mandaviya further alleged that Sarju Karia, his younger brother Jignesh, Badiyani and Mitesh Kotecha, in-charge secretary of Porbandar municipality, forged documents to allot the party plot on Chowpaty Ground to SRP. “Thus the duo (Jignesh and Badiyani) colluded and the Respondent No.1 (Sarju Karia), who was the president, misused his office and with an intent to help his younger brother, Respondent No.1 got his younger brother to file an application after his term ended and got it approved,” reads the application.
The Indian Express has a copy of Mandaviya’s application. The social worker has demanded that the Karia brothers, Badiyani and Kotecha be booked under IPC sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 467 (Forgery of valuable security, will or authority) and 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating).
Talking to The Indian Express, the Porbandar SP said that police have launched an enquiry into the matter. “We received the application yesterday and have initiated an enquiry. We are seeking information from the Nagarpalika (municipality) because it is a government body. While allotting grounds is the business of Nagarpalika if any criminal activity comes to light, we shall file an FIR,” Jadeja said.
But Sarju Karia said he had done no wrong and added that he decided on applications on a first-come-first-served basis. “We allotted the plots on a first-come-first-served basis and going by this principle, I approved the first application which was put on my table.”
On the SPJKS sending an application on August 31 and that SPJKS application also bore the inward register number of the municipality, Sarju Karia said, “I would not know about such details but there were holidays for Janmashtami during that time. The fact remains that I cleared the first application which was put on my table and that happened to be of Raghukul Parivar.”
Saying that the SPJKS had been allotted an alternate ground, he also rejected the charge of favouritism. “Some people may level such allegations but I have done nothing of that sort. There are more people who focus on bad things than those who try to see the brighter side of things.”
Jignesh Karia, who is also president of the Porbandar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also rejected allegations that SRP got the prime party plot for the Navratri festival because its application got favourable treatment by his elder brother. “How to process an application is the prerogative of Nagarpalika. I had approached the Nagarpalika as a customer as we wanted the party plot on Chowpaty Ground. However, neither me nor my elder brother have indulged in favouritism or nepotism. My elder brother could have awarded me contracts while he was president of Nagarpalika but he didn’t do that as we are not that sort of people.”
Meanwhile, Lakha Mokariya, one of the leaders of SPJKS, said he protested after the municipality allotted the party plot to SRP despite SPJKS being the first to apply for that ground. “We told him that it was not fair to allot the party plot to someone else despite us being the first one to apply for it. But the president told us that our application didn’t reach his table,” Mokariya said. Mokariya added that the municipality had issued the Party Plot to SPJKS for Navratri in 2022.
A probe has been launched by police after a social worker in Porbandar submitted an application alleging that former municipality president Sarju Karia indulged in favouritism while allotting a ground to an organisation headed by his younger brother Jignesh for organising garba. BJP leader Karia and his younger brother have refuted the allegations.
Social worker Dinesh Mandaviya sent the application to Porbandar Superintendent of Police Bhagirathsinh Jadeja Thursday and also attached to it documents, which he said, he had obtained from the civic body under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
In his application, Mandaviya underlined that the Smasta Porbandar Jilla Koli Samaj (SPJKS), an organisation of Koli community which has been recognised under the Other Backward Class (OBC) category, had filed an application with the Porbandar Municipality on August 31, requesting the allocation of a party plot on Chowpaty Ground for organising Navratri Garba.
On September 12, Shree Raghukul Parivar (SRP), an organisation of the Lohana community in Porbandar, applied for the same ground for organising Roomzoom Navratri, a garba event from October 15 to October 22. While the SPJKS application filed 12 days ago was pending, the municipality’s market inspector gave a favourable opinion about the SRP’s application on the day it was filed and the president approved it the same day. The SRP completed formalities by depositing Rs 2.38 lakh with the civic body on September 16, Mandaviya alleged, citing the documents.
Sarju Karia’s tenure as the president of the BJP-ruled civic body ended September 14, and Chetna Tiwari was elected his successor.
Documents obtained through RTI show that Rajesh Prataprai Badiyani had applied on behalf of the SRP while Jignesh Karia is the project chairman of Roomzoom Rasotsava 2023, said Mandaviya.
In his application, Mandaviya further alleged that Sarju Karia, his younger brother Jignesh, Badiyani and Mitesh Kotecha, in-charge secretary of Porbandar municipality, forged documents to allot the party plot on Chowpaty Ground to SRP. “Thus the duo (Jignesh and Badiyani) colluded and the Respondent No.1 (Sarju Karia), who was the president, misused his office and with an intent to help his younger brother, Respondent No.1 got his younger brother to file an application after his term ended and got it approved,” reads the application.
The Indian Express has a copy of Mandaviya’s application. The social worker has demanded that the Karia brothers, Badiyani and Kotecha be booked under IPC sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 467 (Forgery of valuable security, will or authority) and 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating).
Talking to The Indian Express, the Porbandar SP said that police have launched an enquiry into the matter. “We received the application yesterday and have initiated an enquiry. We are seeking information from the Nagarpalika (municipality) because it is a government body. While allotting grounds is the business of Nagarpalika if any criminal activity comes to light, we shall file an FIR,” Jadeja said.
But Sarju Karia said he had done no wrong and added that he decided on applications on a first-come-first-served basis. “We allotted the plots on a first-come-first-served basis and going by this principle, I approved the first application which was put on my table.”
On the SPJKS sending an application on August 31 and that SPJKS application also bore the inward register number of the municipality, Sarju Karia said, “I would not know about such details but there were holidays for Janmashtami during that time. The fact remains that I cleared the first application which was put on my table and that happened to be of Raghukul Parivar.”
Saying that the SPJKS had been allotted an alternate ground, he also rejected the charge of favouritism. “Some people may level such allegations but I have done nothing of that sort. There are more people who focus on bad things than those who try to see the brighter side of things.”
Jignesh Karia, who is also president of the Porbandar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also rejected allegations that SRP got the prime party plot for the Navratri festival because its application got favourable treatment by his elder brother. “How to process an application is the prerogative of Nagarpalika. I had approached the Nagarpalika as a customer as we wanted the party plot on Chowpaty Ground. However, neither me nor my elder brother have indulged in favouritism or nepotism. My elder brother could have awarded me contracts while he was president of Nagarpalika but he didn’t do that as we are not that sort of people.”
Meanwhile, Lakha Mokariya, one of the leaders of SPJKS, said he protested after the municipality allotted the party plot to SRP despite SPJKS being the first to apply for that ground. “We told him that it was not fair to allot the party plot to someone else despite us being the first one to apply for it. But the president told us that our application didn’t reach his table,” Mokariya said. Mokariya added that the municipality had issued the Party Plot to SPJKS for Navratri in 2022.
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