MEGA was under continuous govt monitoring, says Gupta's lawyer

A local court today concluded the hearing on the bail application of former IAS officer Sanjay Gupta in connection with the alleged Rs 113-crore scam at Metrolink Express for Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad project.
Additional sessions judge N G Dave is likely to deliver the order on May 26.
During the argument today, Gupta's lawyer contended that the Metro rail project was being monitored by the state government continuously.
"The project was not headed by only one person; it was continuously monitored by the state government. It was continuously monitored by the then chief secretary and the concerned minister," said advocate I H Syed, Gupta's lawyer.

"Six to seven IAS officers were monitoring payment process. Internal, external or even CAG's audit did not find any irregularities," he said.
Public prosecutor Sudheer Brahmbhatt argued that the investigation was going on and therefore the accused should not be granted bail.

CID arrested Gupta on May 14, alleging financial irregularities during his tenure in MEGA in 2012.
Gupta quit IAS in 2003 to start his own business. He owns Neesa Group which runs hotels. He was appointed Executive Chairman of Metro project in 2011 and resigned in August 2013.
CID alleges that Gupta and seven of his subordinates presented forged bills and bogus documents related to Metro work. He allegedly floated several bogus firms by appointing Neesa Group employees as directors and showed these firms as material suppliers.

He paid Rs 11.12 crore to seven such companies and the money eventually went to his own accounts, CID says. It has also alleged that Gupta accepted Rs 60 crore as commission from other suppliers.