The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation fire brigade has issued a show-cause notice to Thaltej fire station divisional fire officer Swastik Bipinchandra Jadeja over alleged misconduct and the unauthorised use of a vehicle assigned to the station fire officer, according to a report by Nav Gujarat Samay – Ahmedabad.
The notice reportedly follows an incident on October 16, when Jadeja allegedly took the station fire officer’s Bolero vehicle without informing officials or making an entry in the station diary and fire control records. The vehicle was reportedly returned after about 15 to 17 hours, after which an entry was made stating that it had been taken for official work.
According to the report, the divisional fire officer had been allocated a separate Bolero jeep for official duties. The use of another vehicle without prior intimation or operational records became an issue because municipal vehicles used by emergency departments must remain traceable. The report noted that any misuse, accident or other incident involving an unlogged vehicle could create legal and administrative complications for the civic body.
The incident was reportedly brought to the attention of the acting chief fire officer after the vehicle was returned. When the acting chief fire officer questioned Jadeja over the matter by telephone, the divisional fire officer allegedly argued with the senior officer and behaved in an inappropriate manner, the report said. It also alleged that an entry was subsequently made at Thaltej fire station against the acting chief fire officer.
The dispute was escalated to the deputy municipal commissioner responsible for the fire brigade department. Following the deputy commissioner’s direction, the acting chief fire officer issued Jadeja a show-cause notice and asked him to submit an explanation within one day. The report did not state whether the explanation had been submitted or what disciplinary action, if any, would follow.
The report also cited fire brigade sources who alleged that Jadeja had taken the station vehicle to two or more garba venues on a Friday night and had argued with organisers over entry passes. The organisers were said to have informed the chief fire officer, bringing the vehicle-use issue to the department’s attention. These claims were not presented as an independent official finding in the supplied report.
The report further said that fire officer Jayesh Khadia had filed a complaint against Jadeja and that Jadeja had responded with a four-page complaint. It also referred to claims that GPS installed in Jadeja’s assigned vehicle indicated that he had used the station officer’s vehicle instead.
The case places operational record-keeping and accountability within a municipal emergency service at the centre of the departmental dispute. The immediate formal step is Jadeja’s response to the show-cause notice, after which the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation fire brigade is expected to decide on any further action.
