Pune Defence Estates Director abruptly transferred; Exposed fraudulent bungalow sales

The Director General of Defence Estates (DGDE) Office “abruptly” transferred Southern Command Defence Estates Director Saurav Ray. The Indian Defence Estates Service (IDES) officer from the 1994 batch, who was transferred on Friday, had received “security” a week earlier from the Pune police due to alleged “threats from vested elements” after he took action against the fraudulent sale of defence properties owned by the central government.

During his ten-month assignment, Ray, who was assigned to Southern Command on May 22, 2023, discovered anomalies pertaining to the fraudulent sale of old grant bungalows (OGBs) in Pune.

According to the DGDE order, the senior administrative grade IDES officers were transferred with the consent of the competent authority (the defence ministry) due to “administrative exigencies.”

C. Ravindra, an IDES officer from the 1993 batch who was previously the Director of Defence Estates at the Northern Command in Jammu, has been moved to the Southern Command in Pune and appointed as a Director.

Ray is now employed with Eastern Command in Kolkata as the Director of Defence Estates. An IDES officer is posted to fulfill a three-year term in his or her current posting, per the rules. Ray served as the custodian of enemy property for India from August 2020 to May 2023, in addition to having been on deputation to the cabinet secretariat’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) from 2003 to 2016.

The former intelligence officer had filed 21 complaints with the CBI against the free transfer of valuable enemy properties.

Ray, who exposed the notorious Adarsh scam in 2001, suffered a setback when he refused to comply with the 1997 transfer of defense land from Ahmednagar Cantonment to Srinagar, Kashmir.

He was the Director of Defense Estates at Eastern Command, Kolkata, from 2016 to 2019.

Amitkumar Mane, the acting defence estates officer (DEO) for Pune Circle, was transferred by the DG office. Mane had sealed four bungalow properties and started the takeover process of the oldest club in Camp due to non-payment of dues totaling ₹17 crore and lease expiry.

On January 22, Mane was transferred by the DGDE and re-instated as an additional DEO in Pune the following day.