The Madhya Pradesh Economic Offences Wing has registered an FIR against Ms Anju Singh Baghel, a 1993 batch IAS officer who was placed under suspension and has now retired, under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The EOW would now be thoroughly investigating Ms Baghel’s role in a 2008 case linked with transfer of government land when she was posted as collector Katni. A preliminary inquiry against her was initiated on an anonymous complaint alleging that she had gone out her way to favour and had allowed exchange of land between the government and a marble trader causing loss to the exchequer.
The operative part of the complaint was that in her capacity as collector, Ms Baghel had allowed prime government land on a highway to be exchanged with another piece of land which was freshly purchased by a marble trader and was of lower value.
A senior EOW officer told this newspaper that the FIR against Ms Baghel was registered on Monday night.
The EOW officer said that she has been booked for criminal conspiracy and also under different section of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
He said that Mohammed Abbas, the trader involved in the land exchange scam, has also been booked for criminal conspiracy.