Gujarat IAS officer allegedly held hostage, thrashed during inspection of fisheries project; three held

Police have arrested three persons for their alleged involvement in the attack on Gujarat IAS officer Nitin Sangwan, says DSP Vishal Vaghela

Gujarat IAS officer Nitin Sangwan was allegedly held hostage and thrashed by a group of men associated with fishing activity during his visit to a village near the Dharoi dam in Sabarkantha district on March 8, said police

It is suspected that detection of alleged irregularities in a fisheries project led to the incident.

Mr. Sangwan, who serves as the Director of Fisheries, was accompanied by his subordinate staff during the visit to the village on March 6, and suffered injuries in the attack, but was out of danger, said Sabarkantha district Superintendent of Police (DSP) Vishal Vaghela.

Police have arrested three persons for their alleged involvement in the attack on the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, he said.

"While three persons involved in the crime have already been arrested, efforts were on to identify and nab the other accused," said Mr. Vaghela.

The bureaucrat and his team went to Ambavada village near the Dharoi dam built on the Sabarmati river for inspection of a fisheries project wherein the State Government provides subsidy to local contractors to start "cage culture fishing" in the dam water.

As per the FIR (first information report), during the visit, the 2016-batch IAS officer was accompanied by D.N. Patel, a senior Fisheries Department official from Palanpur, and some junior staff.