Bhopal, Jan 28 (PTI) Saurabh Sharma, a former constable of the Madhya Pradesh Transport Department who was on the run for over a month after raids exposed his alleged disproportionate assets, was arrested by Lokayukta Police on Tuesday, a senior officer said.
Among the three accused booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act, Sharma’s close accomplice Chetan Singh Gaud was held a day before, while another aide Sharad Jaiswal was detained on Tuesday.
Sharma and Gaud were produced before the first district and additional session judge Ram Pratap Mishra’s court which remanded them to police custody till February 4, Director General of the Special Police Establishment (SPE) Jaideep Prasad told PTI.
Sharma’s lawyer Rakesh Parashar opposed the remand and demanded that the former constable’s regular health check-up be conducted.
Sharma was apprehended at a location in Bhopal.
Prasad said individuals involved in the corruption case would also be questioned, while investigations are on regarding Sharma’s whereabouts during the period he had been absconding.
The former constable hit headlines in mid-December when Lokayukta Police seized assets worth nearly Rs 8 crore, including Rs 2.87 crore in cash, after raiding premises linked to him at different locations. He had been on the run since then.
Sharma’s lawyer had claimed that the former constable had surrendered before the additional district and sessions judge on Monday.
“The court on Monday directed Sharma to appear before it on Tuesday. In the meantime, Lokayukta SPE wrongfully detained him,” he said, adding that Sharma had filed an application for surrender in the court.
Sharma was appointed as a constable in the state transport department on compassionate grounds in 2015 following the death of his father, who was a government doctor.
The former constable took voluntary retirement in 2023, the Lokayukta Police had said earlier.
He allegedly amassed money through corruption and purchased huge assets. He also set up a school and a hotel in the name of his mother, wife, sister-in-law and close associates Gaud and Jaiswal, a Lokayuka Police official said.
Lokayukta Police raided premises linked to Sharma on December 18 and 19, followed by the searches conducted by Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Income Tax Department separately and the launching of parallel investigations.
The Lokayukta police had claimed to have unearthed and seized assets of Rs 7.98 crore, including Rs 2.87 crore in cash and 234 kilograms of silver, during raids at Sharma’s places.
Lokayukta Police conducted searches at Sharma’s residence in the E-7 Sector of Arera Colony in Bhopal and recovered Rs 1.15 crore cash (including foreign currency), jewellery of Rs 50 lakh and other assets, including vehicles, valued at Rs 2.21 crore, he said.
Separately, Sharma’s private office was also raided, leading to the recovery of Rs 1.72 crore cash, 234 kg of silver valued at Rs 2.10 crore and other assets worth Rs 3 crore.
The Lokayukta Police found movable assets of Rs 7.98 crore during searches conducted at locations linked to the former constable, the official told PTI on December 19.
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 Sharma’s assistant Gaud on the outskirts of Bhopal.
After the raids, summonses were issued to Sharma, his wife, mother, and two associates, asking them to appear for questioning, he said. PTI MAS ADU NSK
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