A Right to Information response citing the highest deposits of scrapped notes worth Rs 745.59 crore in Ahmedabad District Cooperative Bank (known as ADC) created quite a political uproar about two months ago. Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah is a director with the bank.

Now, for the first time, Newslaundry reveals the names of 12 petrol pumps in Gujarat that deposited more than Rs 80 lakh each with ADC, within five days of demonetisation. Most of these pumps are from Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar and include pumps run by a sarpanch from the BJP, three pumps run by families associated with the BJP, and one by the son of the Deputy Superintendent of Police (Dy SP). One of the petrol pumps is run by Bipin Patel Gota, who is known in Ahmedabad political circles as Shah’s close aide and right-hand man.

The Ministry of Finance prepared a list of entities that deposited more than 80 lakh rupees in ADC within the first week of demonetisation. The list, accessed by Newslaundry, comprises 12 petrol pumps that deposited amounts totalling Rs 13.5 crore—in scrapped currency—with ADC, in the first week of demonetisation, before banks were asked to stop accepting the banned currency.

We visited 10 out of the 12 above-mentioned petrol pumps over a span of two weeks and re-confirmed the details with their respective owners and managers. Many of these stated that they had received notices, in the aftermath of note-bandi, from the Income Tax Department for a sudden rise in deposits made in ADC during the demonetisation drive.

Here is the list of 12 petrol pumps

1. Prachi Gasoline: Run by Amit Shah’s close aide Bipin Patel Gota

Amount deposited: ₹1.63 crore in Gota branch of ADC

Located in the Gota area of Ahmedabad, this Indian Oil petrol pump is owned and run by BJP leader Amit Shah’s close aide—Bipin Patel Gota—and records an average sale of between 13,000 and 14,000 litres of fuel per day.

Mangaji Thakkor, manager of the pump, confirmed that it was indeed owned by Bipin Patel Gota. He also stated that during demonetisation, the sales “would not have crossed more than 1.5 times of the sales of the normal sales”.

This implies that even if Prachi Gasoline sold 20,000 litres per day in the first week of demonetisation, the daily revenue (considering petrol was at Rs 68/litre and calculating all sales as petrol) would have been about Rs 13.60 lakh per day.

While Thakkor said Prachi Gasoline had not received a notice from any government agency for their deposits made during the note ban, he mentioned that the deposits were normal, considering the revenue generated by the petrol pump.

Apart from being a BJP leader, Patel is also one of the directors of ADC. His name features next to Amit Shah’s on the board carrying ADC Directors’ names inside the bank’s headquarters in Ahmedabad. His bio on Twitter also says he’s the Director of the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) and Gujarat State Cooperative Bank.

Patel was also among the 36 people acquitted in 2016 by a special designated court in the 2002 Gulbarg Society massacre case

2. Mahakali Petroleum: co-owned by Arvind Chauhan, a local BJP leader and sarpanch of Bilasiya village

Deposited: ₹1.25 crore in Ambapur branch of ADC

This HP petrol pump is located in a prime location on the state highway near Bilasiya village, Ahmedabad. Mahakali Petroleum’s licence is in the name of Kantilal M Rathod, and is managed by his younger brother Ramabhai Rathod. The other two members of the family—Prabhat Sinh Chauhan and Arvind Chauhan—co-own the petrol pump and share the profit, said 59-year-old Ramabhai Rathod. However, Chauhan and Singh are sleeping partners in terms of the pump’s ownership structure.

Chauhan is also sarpanch of Bilasiya village and is associated with the BJP.

According to Ramabhai Rathod, Mahakali Petroleum’s average sales currently are anywhere between 15,000-17,000 litres per day. He said that during the first week of demonetisation, it was at roughly around 26,000-30,000 litres per day. “Two-three months after the note-bandi, we received a notice from the IT department,” Rathod said. “However, our chartered accountants showed the books and records, and the matter was sorted in barely two to three meetings.”

3. Brijraj Petroleum: named after BJP Botad District Vice-President Brijraj Sinh

Deposited: ₹84 lakh in Barwala branch of ADC.

Brijraj Petroleum is a small Indian Oil petrol pump located near the Ahmedabad-Bhavnagar Highway. The pump is owned by Mahendra Sinh Jala, and is named after his nephew, Brijraj Sinh.

Shivraj Sinh, manager of the pump, told Newslaundry that the total sales currently averages at about 2,200 litres per day. Going by this, if sales doubled during the first week of demonetisation, it would fall in the bracket of 4,500-5,000 litres per day.

Shivraj added that Brijraj Petroleum had received a notice from the IT department, and later submitted its records to sort out the matter. During the conversation, he (Shivraj) also mentioned that Brijraj Sinh is General Secretary of the BJP Botad district unit. A fact confirmed by Newslaundry.

4. Parag Petroleum: owned by a family associated with the BJP

Deposited: ₹1.72 crore in Uvarsad branch of ADC

This Essar petrol pump, located on the Uvarsad-Vavol road in Gandhinagar, has three partners and is owned by Parag Patel, whose nephew, Ashik Patel, is a member of the Bharatiya Janta Yuva Morcha—the BJP’s youth wing. Parag Patel told Newslaundry that the current average sales are 10,000 litres per day and that during the first week of the demonetisation drive, it had crossed 15,000 litres/day mark.

“The revenue had increased during the demonetisation week because a number of customers who buy petrol or diesel on credit, now started making payments in cash,” Patel said. He also said he had received a notice from the IT department and that chartered accountants attached with the firm had submitted the required documents with the department. This petrol pump primarily does business with transporters and real estate companies in the locality.

5. Gajanand Petroleum: Owned by a family associated with the BJP

Deposited: ₹84 lakh in Keliya Vasana branch of ADC

This petrol pump located near Ranoda village in Gujarat is run by Hitesh Patel.

Patel said he is a BJP member and that his ji-ja (brother-in-law) Jignesh Patel is Taluka Pramukh of Dholka city. The average monthly sales of Gajanand Petroleum are nearly 2 lakh litres; Hitesh Patel said that during the first week of demonetisation, sales increased to 8,000-10,000 litres per day.

According to him, the sales revenue per day should have been around ₹6.8 lakh in the first week of demonetisation. When asked about the deposits made at ADC, he said that it was ‘normal’ considering the revenue of the petrol pump, taking into account the sales it recorded at the time and the cash payments made by its clients.

6. Laxmi Fuel Station: owned by the son of Gujarat Police’s Deputy SP

Deposited: ₹1.18 crore in Dholera branch of ADC

This is one of the major Indian Oil petrol pumps located on the Ahmedabad-Pipli-Bhavnagar highway, near Dhandhuka’s Aambali village. Laxmi Fuel Station began operations in 2004 and is now run by 27-year-old Ajay Sinh Vaghela—one of the sons of Hardev Singh Vaghela, Dy SP, Gujarat Police. The present average sales are 20,000 litres per day.

Ajay Singh Vaghela said that during demonetisation, sales increased to 25,000 litres per day at Laxmi Fuel Station. Considering the sales in the first week of demonetisation, the average revenue should have been ₹17 lakh per day. While he accepted that Laxmi Fuel Station had received a notice from the IT department at the time, he also maintained that they were not penalised.

7. NG Gadhiya Filling Station: Linked to Rajasthan’s NG Gadhiya Group

Deposited: ₹1.11 crore in Barwala branch of ADC

NG Gadhiya Filling Station is yet another prime petrol pump situated on the Ahmedabad-Bhavnagar highway near Rojid village. Its current average sales are between 5,000-5,500 litres per day. The petrol pump is owned by Nilesh Gadhiya and is part of the NG Gadhiya Group.

Haresh Patel, manager of the pump, said during the first week of demonetisation, sales would have touched 8,000-10,000 litres per day. While speaking over the phone, Nilesh Gadhiya claimed he had not received any IT department notice. He also said the deposit amount we were referring to is incorrect.

8 and 9. Navkar Petroleum: Located in Ahmedabad’s Changodar and Vastrapur areas

Navkar (Changodar) deposited: ₹1.74 crore in Changodar branch of ADC

Navkar (Vastrapur) deposit: ₹1.26 crore in Vastrapur branch of ADC

Navkar Petroleum is run by a businessman named Bhaumik Thakkar. He owns two Bharat Petroleum pumps: one in Changodar on the highway, and the other on an ad hoc arrangement in Ahmedabad city.

While the staff members at the pump located in Changodar said the average sales are about 15,000 litres per day, Thakkar declined to speak to us.

10. Sun Petrogas: located in Saraspur locality of Ahmedabad

Deposited: ₹92 lakh in Saraspur branch of ADC

This petrol pump is in Ahmedabad city’s Saraspur area. Though the dealership is in the name of Dilip Samji Gala, the pump is run by 38-year-old Manoj Sanjva. 

Sanjva said since his petrol pump is a little away from the main road, it records lower sales as compared to other pumps in the city. According to him, the present sales averaged around 1,700-1,800 litres per day.

This figure had risen to between 2,000–2,200 litres per day during the first week of demonetisation. He also said the monthly revenue of his pump is nearly ₹1 crore.

Sanjva said although he had received an IT department notice, he had not been penalised.

11. Jay Petroleum: located in Kuha village

Deposited: ₹1.01 crore in Kuha branch of ADC

This Indian Oil petrol pump is on the state highway and located at Kuha village in Daskroi Tehsil, Ahmedabad. The dealership is in the name of Alkaben Patel and is run by her husband Ketal Patel (43). Ketal said the present average sales per day was between 7,000-8,000 litres. This number was between 13,000-14,000 litres per day during the first week of demonetisation.

Jay Petroleum had received a notice from the IT department but wasn’t penalised, said Ketal.

12. Shethwala Petroleum: located in Hansalpur

Deposited: Rs 89 lakh in ADC’S Hansalpur branch (according to sources)

The last on the list is Shethwala Petroleum, situated in Hasanlpur, a distant location from Ahmedabad city. This petrol pump had deposited Rs 89 lakh in ADC’s Hansalpur branch, according to sources. Despite our repeated attempts to speak to the owners, we failed to get a response.

Dharmendra Shah, Vice-president of the Gujarat Petroleum Dealers Association (GPDA), told Newslaundry that the average sales of petrol pumps in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar are roughly 250 kilolitres per month (or 8,300 litres per day), which is more than the average recorded in all other places in the state of Gujarat.

Shah said that in the first three days of the demonetisation drive, sale of petrol and diesel had increased by 100 per cent, and in the following four days, it was nearly 40 per cent more than usual.  Newslaundry reached out to ADC and its Chief Operating Officer ML Bahediya, but we are yet to receive a response on whether they followed the required procedures while accepting deposits made by these petrol pumps. We also asked if they had informed the Financial Intelligence Unit about these transactions—as mentioned in the procedure. The story will be updated as and when they respond.

According to District Cooperative Central Bank (DCCB) data, ADC is one of the country’s top 10 cooperative banks, boasting over 16 lakh account holders, 195 branches, and a total business level of over Rs 9,000 crore and a deposit base of Rs 5,330 crore. The officials at ADC remained tight-lipped when asked about the deposits made during the demonetisation drive. The only response we got was to check the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) press release—which absolves the bank of any misdeed.

In its press statement, NABARD had said: “Of the total 16 lakh accounts with the DCCB, deposits or exchanges were made only by 1.60 lakh customers, i.e. 9.37% of the total deposit accounts. Of these less than ₹2.5 lakh were deposited in 98.66% of the accounts in which deposits/exchanges were made. Of the total accounts with the bank, it was only in 0.09% accounts where above ₹2.5 lakh were deposited.”

NABARD had also stated: “During this intervening [first five days of demonetisation] period, 1.6 lakh customers of the bank deposited/exchanged demonetised notes aggregating to ₹746 crore, which was only about 15% of total deposits of the bank.”

A senior official in a managerial post at ADC told Newslaundry: “We were allowed to accept old currencies only till five days after demonetisation was announced, and we fulfilled the RBI’s KYC norms (Know Your Customer) while accepting these transactions.” Speaking about the directors, the official said while Shah has been a director at ADC for years now, Bipin Patel has been a director since 2006. This officer too redirected us to the NABARD statement.