Meghdoot Garden Scam: Indore’s Court Convicts 9 People, Including 3 Former Corporators

A special court in Indore convicted nine people on Tuesday, including three former corporators, Suraj Kero, Rajendra Soni, and Kailash Yadav, in the 20-year-old Meghdoot Garden Scam Case of Rs 2.5 crores.

According to Special Prosecutor Ashish Khare, in February 2003, Chotu Shukla, a Congress leader and Leader of Opposition of the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC), filed a complaint to Lokayukta against the accused for misappropriation of funds in 2003.

According to Shukla’s complaint, a proposal for Rs 2.5 crore for various developmental works at the Meghdoot Garden was made without government approval, and the money was withdrawn without any actual work being done on the ground.

During the course of the investigation, the Lokayukta discovered that the accused had duped the municipal corporation out of Rs 33.60 lakh in the name of garden renovation. Following that, the Lokayukta presented a charge sheet against the said accused before the court.

The nine people were convicted in the court of Special Judge (Lokayukta) Sanjay Kumar Gupta under IPC sections 471 (Using as genuine a forged document or electronic record), 466 (Forgery of record of Court or of public register, etc), 218 (Public servant framing incorrect record or writing with intent to save person from punishment or property from forfeiture), and 120 B (Punishment of criminal conspiracy) and section 13(1)D, 13(2), of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 for three years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 each.

Other convicts include Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) employees, assistant architect Suresh Kumar Jain, garden superintendent Amanullah Khan, senior auditor Vidya Nidhi Srivastava, assistant director Rishi Prasad Gautam, chief engineer Jagdish Dagaonkar, and the contractor Keshav Pandit.