Dismissed IAS officer Arvind Joshi surrenders before court

Bhopal: Absconding former IAS officer Arvind Joshi on Tuesday surrendered before a local court in connection with the disproportionate assets case against him.

Additional District judge D P Mishra sent Joshi, who has been sacked from service, to judicial custody till September 19 after the tainted officer appeared in the court.

On February 2 this year, the Supreme Court had rejected his anticipatory bail application.

Joshi's lawyer sought bail for his client on the ground that he was suffering from blood cancer and was needed to undergo bone marrow transplantation.

If he didn't undergo the procedure, his life span would be 'reduced by two years', the lawyer said.

However, the prosecution opposed the bail tooth and nail stating that Joshi had absconded for long despite an arrest warrant and had no regard for the court summons.

The disgraced IAS officer surrendered only when no other option was left, the prosecution said.

It also said that Joshi and his close relatives had been found to be in possession of assets worth Rs 41.87 crore, highly disproportionate to their known sources of income.

Joshi's wife Tinoo Joshi, who too has been dismissed from service, is at present lodged in the Bhopal Central Jail.

The IAS couple were dismissed from service after an income-tax raid on their house in February 2010 led to detection of huge wealth, including Rs three crore in cash.

The Joshis are facing cases for disproportionate assets under Prevention of Corruption Act and Indian Penal Code.