New Delhi: On 19 December, 2024 around noon, a former sarpanch of Mendori village, located on the outskirts of Bhopal, saw two men parking an Innova car next to his farm.
While spotting an SUV in the village is not unusual since several affluent families and businessmen of Bhopal have their farmhouses there, the efforts made by the men to dismantle a plate from the car piqued his interest. In the evening, he saw the car still parked at the same spot, with the plate—which had ‘RTO’ written over it—lying nearby.
The ex-sarpanch went on to take a closer look, and on seeing multiple big bags inside the car, dialled the nearest police station.
What the personnel from Bhopal’s Ratibad police station found and the Income Tax Department eventually seized has sparked a massive row in the political and bureaucratic circles of Madhya Pradesh.
Around 52 kilograms of gold and piles of cash amounting to Rs 10 crore were recovered by the Income Tax Department, which allegedly belonged to a former constable with the state’s transport department.
The accused, identified as Saurabh Sharma, has been on the run, and is facing criminal proceedings by the state’s Lokayukta, I-T department and Enforcement Directorate over charges of amassing assets hugely disproportionate to his legal income.
Chetan Singh Gaur and Sharad Jaiswal have been identified as Sharma’s associates, who are also absconding.
Madhya Pradesh Congress has linked the haul to allegations of corruption against the Mohan Yadav-led Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state.
In a press conference Friday, the state party unit chief Jitendra Patwari alleged that a diary belonging to Sharma, which could have unearthed the alleged nexus of corruption, has gone missing along with the accused.
“There is danger to Saurabh Sharma’s life. Neither I-T, Lokayukta nor ED have accepted the existence of the diary. No one knows about his whereabouts,” he said.
In response, the BJP said that it seemed Patwari was recalling the Congress’s 15-month government, which was marked by corruption.
Last month, Chief Minister Yadav had also said, “Our government has continued the policy of fighting corruption. We have closed check barriers from the very first day. We are against corruption at every level.”
ThePrint also reached out to the state’s Transport Minister Uday Pratap Singh via phone and WhatsApp. This report will be updated as and when a response is received.
After the recovery of the cash and gold from Sharma’s aides and the graft allegations, the Madhya Pradesh government Thursday changed the transport commissioner.
Police have said that the Innova car, from which the gold and cash were recovered, belonged to Sharma’s aide Gaur, and that the SUV was seen leaving the locality where he lives, when officials from Lokayukta were carrying out raids.
Officials also said that while Lokayukta raided his residential property in Bhopal, another such property used by him just a few metres away was not searched. It was from this house that the Innova carrying the cash and gold was allegedly driven away before seizure by the I-T Department.
Jaideep Prasad, director general, Madhya Pradesh Lokayukta told ThePrint that cash and assets worth Rs 7.98 crore have been recovered from the residence and office of Sharma, which was also being used as residence by his aide Gaur.
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What Lokayukta FIR, ED say
A businessman, from whom Sharma had acquired a petrol pump using the allegedly illicit money, approached a local journalist to lodge a complaint against him before the state Lokayukta in Bhopal.
Based on the complaint—which alleged that Sharma’s total assets, comprising the money and immovable properties, amounted to Rs 500-700 crore—the Lokayukta booked Sharma on 19 December, under relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
On 23 December, the ED recorded an Enforcement Complaint Information Report against Sharma and his associates under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.
In the FIR, a copy of which ThePrint has seen, it is alleged that the former RTO (Regional Transport Office) constable channeled the money obtained illegally from the transport department into several business ventures and immovable properties in the name of his wife and mother, and company founded in the name of his son.
Sharma served in the department for nearly 15 years and took voluntary retirement in December 2023 to divert the illicit money, according to the FIR. However, officials aware of his service records told ThePrint that he was given a job on compassionate grounds in 2015 after the death of his father the same year.
The Lokayukta police recorded two transactions carried out in September 2022—in the name of Sharma’s wife and his business partner Gaur—for purchasing two land parcels in Bhopal. These transactions, the police found, establish Sharma’s pattern of purchasing high-valued properties in the names of family members and associates.
Sharma has also been accused of naming his mother and wife the chairperson and director of the upcoming Bhopal unit of the national franchise of Jaipuria School.
The Lokayukta FIR further alleged that Sharma founded one construction company named Aviral Building and Construction Private Limited in the name of his son in 2021 to own immovable properties and fixed deposits in the name of the company. His aides Gaur and Jaiswal were appointed the directors of the company.
Among the assets allegedly acquired by Sharma, a villa in Dubai worth approximately Rs 150 crore, fish farms in Madhya Pradesh, multiple land parcels and a warehouse in Bhopal have been submitted to the Lokayukta for investigation.
On 27 December, ED carried out searches at the premises linked to Sharma, Gaur and Jaiswal in Bhopal, Gwalior and Jabalpur, and somewhat confirmed the broader allegations levelled against him in the Lokayukta FIR—that he owned assets via his family members and business associates. The federal probe agency has so far unearthed immovable assets worth Rs 23 crore registered in the names of his firm Aviral Building and Construction, and family members.
“During the search proceedings conducted in Bhopal, Gwalior and Jabalpur at eight premises, movable assets in the form of fixed deposits (FDs) of more than Rs 6 Crore were identified in the name of Chetan Singh Gaur, associate of Saurabh Sharma, and bank balances of more than Rs 4 crore were found in the name of family members and companies of Saurabh Sharma,” an agency spokesperson said in a statement.
“Further, documents pertaining to immovable assets/properties worth more than Rs 23 crore in the name of various companies and family members of Saurabh Sharma were found along with other incriminating documents. Search action revealed that such assets were allegedly purchased/acquired by Saurabh Sharma from illegal money obtained through corrupt practices while he was working as constable in the Transport department,” the statement added.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
No wonder Madhya Pradesh is a proud member of the infamous BIMARU gang.
When a corrupt RTO constable makes ₹700 crore through corruption, imagine the amount of money officers, MLAs, MPs, CMs, PMs, and others make.