Surat Cooperative Office Under Corruption Cloud as Complainant Moves ACB

Surat | Gujarat — The shadow of corruption has once again fallen heavily over the Surat District Registrar of Cooperative Societies office, as a complainant, frustrated by inaction at the highest levels of governance, is now preparing to approach the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB). Despite repeated complaints highlighting alleged bribery, irregular registrations, audit manipulation and deliberate delays, no concrete action has been initiated by authorities ranging from the state cooperation department to Gandhinagar.

The latest controversy centres on an alleged bribe demanded for issuing a registration certificate for a cooperative society. Sources in the cooperative sector claim that the demand was not made independently by lower-level staff, but “on behalf of a senior officer”, raising serious questions about who is truly pulling the strings within the office.

“This is not an isolated case. Corruption in the Surat cooperative machinery has become systemic,” said a cooperative sector activist. “Two District Registrars have already been suspended in the past. Yet the system continues as if nothing has changed.”

In the current case, three individuals have been arrested by the Surat ACB—an auditor (Grade-2, Class-3), an outsourced computer operator, and an office superintendent (Class-3). Notably, none were caught red-handed while accepting the bribe. Instead, arrests were made later from their residences, fuelling speculation that the real beneficiaries remain untouched.

“The key question is: on whose behalf was the bribe demanded?” a senior cooperative society member asked. “Will the investigation stop at clerks and contract staff, or will it reach the officer who allegedly ordered it?”

The issue has gained further gravity as multiple cooperative disputes linked to Surat are already before the High Court, including the long-delayed elections of Sumul Dairy and the District Cooperative Bank. The District Registrar’s Office has also faced accusations of playing a questionable role in the infamous old cooperative dairy scam in Surat, involving land deals, sweet marts and milk-filling operations during a period of alleged mismanagement.

A former cooperative official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “Files don’t move in this office without ‘setting’. Everyone in the sector knows it. The only uncertainty is whether this ACB probe will finally expose the top layer.”