The Gujarat police on Friday arrested conman Sandip Rajput, and his aide Abu-Bakr Saiyyad, a government contractor, for siphoning public money in the name of fake projects. According to the police, Mr. Rajput, ran the operation for nearly three years and pocketed a grant of over ₹4 crore from the State in tribal dominated Chita Udepur district of Gujarat.
Posing as an “executive engineer” at the Irrigation Department , Mr. Rajput and his aides had set up a functioning office in Gujarat’s Bodeli town on July 21, 2021, which continued to operate until October 25, 2023. From this office, Mr. Rajput and his accomplices allegedly sent proposals for various projects in the area.
According to the police, Mr. Rajput forged government documents, signatures, records and project literatutre, and during the period, he received 93 government projects of minor irrigation for which he pocketed funds to the tune of ₹4.15 crore.
