Gujarat: Taluka Development Officer seeks leave for going into hiding

Sounds surprising but a official in the Gujarat government has been forced to take shelter in a hideout after he received threat calls from anti-social elements. What's more surprising is that his superior official has approved his leave-without-pay application to stay in a hideout.

The official, Taluka Development Officer BD Solanki of Vav taluka in Banaskantha, is believed to have received threat calls from anti-social elements who wanted him to facilitate wrongdoings in development work.

The official, however, did not bow to political pressure, but instead approached his boss District Development Officer (DDO) Bijal Shah on Tuesday requesting him to sanction his leave application for safety.

The DDO, on Wednesday, issued an order giving the charge of Vav TDO to Bhabar TDO RD Poraniya saying that Solanki had gone on leave due to threat to his life. "The official was pressurised by some anti-social elements about some corrupt practices but he did not surrender," said a departmental source. "When they started giving him threat calls, he went on leave."

DNA tried to contact Solanki and the DDO Shah, but they could not be approached.

Congress MLA from Vav, Geniben Thakor said: "It is the ruling party BJP's members in Vav Taluka Panchayat who have been threatening Solanki. He had shared this with me in the past and I had assured him of all the support he needed. This is really an eye opening case for the ruling party of Gujarat which claims safety and security in the state, but a senior official is not safe here and the threat is from the leaders of the ruling party only."