Dharmendrasinh Zala, the elected sarpanch from Vaghasia village in Morbi, Gujarat, is reportedly on the run after facing charges for allegedly establishing illegal toll booths on National Highway 8A. The accused sarpanch failed to appear before the district development officer, despite being served a showcause notice.
According to police, Dharmendrasinh Zala, along with his elder brother Yuvarajsinh and three others, was booked on December 4 for the purported establishment of an unauthorised toll booth in Nava Vaghasia and another on the premises of the defunct White House Tiles Private Limited factory. The FIR, filed under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, also implicates Amarshi Patel, the son of Patidar leader Jeram Vansjaliya.
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Dharmendrasinh Zala’s family background adds intrigue to the situation, with his wife Varshaba being a BJP member of the Wankaner taluka panchayat and his father Bahadursinh Zala, who passed away last year, having served as the sarpanch of Vaghasia for two decades.
Following the registration of the criminal case, the taluka development officer reported the matter to the district development officer, DD Jadeja, who issued a notice to Dharmendrasinh Zala on December 6. The notice, served under section 59(1) of the Gujarat Panchayat Act 1993, required the sarpanch to appear for a hearing on December 19. However, he failed to attend the scheduled hearing, citing his status as a wanted individual.
“He becomes liable to be suspended as sarpanch following the registration of a criminal offence against him. But as per the principle of natural justice and directions of various courts, we have to give a hearing to the sarpanch concerned before taking action. Therefore, we’ll serve him one more showcause notice in the coming days,” The Indian Express quoted DD Jadeja as saying.
Section 59(1) of the Act empowers a district development officer to suspend a village sarpanch “against whom any criminal proceedings in respect of an offence involving moral turpitude have been instituted.”
“We had provided to the sarpanch a copy of the FIR registered against him as well as the report submitted by the Wankaner taluka development officer and asked the sarpanch to make submissions with relevant documents. But he failed to appear at the appointed time,” Jadeja added.
The saga continues as all five accused remain at large. Dharmendrasinh and his brother Yuvrajsinh sought anticipatory bail from the district and sessions court of Morbi, but their applications were rejected last week.