New Delhi: Who is Pradeep Sharma? Once at the centre of a political firestorm over his allegations of illegal surveillance under the Modi-Shah administration in Gujarat—former IAS officer has been in custody since 2016 for a PMLA case in which he has now been sentenced to five years in jail at the age of 71.

A special court in Ahmedabad (Rural) found him guilty of laundering illicit proceeds derived from land allotment during his tenure as District Collector, Bhuj (Kutch). Judge Kamal M. Sojitra on 6 December, via a detailed 195-page judgment, also ordered confiscation of assets worth Rs 1.32 crore.

The case stems from an Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation based on multiple FIRs filed in Gujarat under the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act. Pradeep Sharma was

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