Three crore cash seized from former Constable in Madhya Pradesh

During searches at his residence in E-7 Sector of Arera Colony, cash with a face value of Rs 1.15 crore (including foreign currency), jewellery of Rs 50 lakh and other assets, including vehicles, valued at Rs 2.21 crore were recovered

Bhopal: A former constable in Madhya Pradesh has been found in possession of assets of Rs 7.98 crore, including Rs 2.87 crore in cash and 234 kilograms of silver, a top Lokayukta Police official said.

The Lokayukta’s Special Police Establishment (SPE) seized these assets from premises linked to former constable Saurabh Sharma after searches at his residence and office here on December 18 and 19, the official said on Monday.

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Lokayukta Police Director General Jaideep Prasad said Saurabh Sharma’s father RK Sharma was a government doctor and died in 2015.

Afterwards, Saurabh Sharma got appointed as a constable in the state transport department on compassionate ground in 2015 and took voluntary retirement in 2023, he said.

The former cop used money earned through corrupt means to amass huge assets, including setting up a school and hotel in the name of his mother, wife, sister-in-law and close associates Chetan Singh Gaud and Sharad Jaiswal, the official said.

During searches at his residence in E-7 Sector of Arera Colony, cash with a face value of Rs 1.15 crore (including foreign currency), jewellery of Rs 50 lakh and other assets, including vehicles, valued at Rs 2.21 crore were recovered, he said.

After raids at his office in the same location, Rs 1.72 crore in cash, 234 kg of silver valued at Rs 2.10 crore and other assets of Rs 3 crore were also found, Prasad informed.

So far, moveable assets of Rs 7.98 crore have been found during searches at locations linked to the former constable, the Lokayukta police official said.

Summons have been issued to Saurabh Sharma, his wife, mother and associates Gaud and Jaiswal, asking them to appear for questioning, he said.

The Income Tax department has also seized cash and gold from Gaud. Bank details and land documents found during the searches were being scrutinised, Prasad said.

In a separate action on December 19, the I-T department seized more than Rs 10 crore in cash and over 50 kg of gold from a car owned by Gaud on the outskirts of Bhopal.