Two Indian Administrative Service ( IAS ) officers, K Rajesh and Gaurav Dahiya, were compulsorily retired by the Gujarat government on Thursday.
The decision is part of an ongoing review of officials facing disciplinary action and questions over their conduct under an exercise known as “Operation Gangajal”.
He was accused of accepting bribes to issue arms licences and allot government land. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) later arrested him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and filed a prosecution complaint against him. The government then ordered a formal departmental inquiry. Dahiya rejected the allegations, claiming he had been honey-trapped and blackmailed. Delhi Police later cleared him in the complaint filed by the woman. Retired IAS officer VS Gadhavi was appointed to investigate allegations concerning his financial transactions, including the purchase of a flat in Delhi for the woman. He was then posted as an additional development commissioner in Gandhinagar.
In August 2019, Dahiya was suspended after a state inquiry committee found substance in allegations of bigamy and professional misconduct levelled against him by a woman from Delhi. In November 2019, the state government ordered another inquiry into Dahiya’s financial dealings. The Gujarat government lifted Dahiya’s suspension in July 2023, almost four years after it was imposed.
A Gujarat government official said Dahiya’s compulsory retirement came after a series of disciplinary proceedings, controversies and misconduct inquiries during his career, including matters related to his tenure with the National Health Mission. However, the Gujarat government said at the time that departmental inquiries into separate complaints against him were still underway.
