52 kg gold was recovered from a car parked in the forest (file photo)
Digital Desk, Bhopal. Our government is running on zero tolerance regarding corruption... We will not spare anyone... We will not come under any political pressure... Ministers, officers and other leaders of the state government speak such things with full force, but the action is equally lax. A big example of this is the scam of former transport constable Saurabh Sharma which has brought shame to the state across the country.
Action lax even after a year
Exactly one year ago today, on 19 December 2024, Lokayukta police had raided his residence and office. Property worth Rs 8 crore was found at both the places together. The next day, 52 kg of gold and Rs 10 crore in cash were found in a car parked in the forest in Mendori village of Bhopal, which was confiscated by the Income Tax Department.
Lokayukta police has not yet been able to arrest Pyare, the driver who took the car to Mendori village. The investigation is also still incomplete. Officials say it may take at least three more months for prosecution in the case to begin.
Three made accused, one got bail
Let us tell you that apart from Saurabh Sharma, the police had made his friends Chetan Gaur and Sharad Jaiswal accused in the case. Gaur has been granted bail, the other two accused are still in jail. On the basis of the crime registered with the Lokayukta police, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had also registered a case and conducted a raid. ED has also made some relatives of Pyare and Saurabh Sharma accused. Lokayukta police officials say that the number of accused in the challan will increase. According to sources, the total accused may be 10 to 12.
Even after a year, the police has not been able to find answers to many questions in the corruption case. The sleeping car was in the name of Chetan Gaur, which was parked by Saurabh's cousin brother-in-law in his plant in Mendori. Since the driver could not be interrogated, it is not known from where the car came.
Officials have not been questioned yet
The officials of the Transport Department, during whose time Saurabh Sharma committed the scam, were interrogated neither by the Lokayukta Police nor by the Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax Department. It was believed that the investigation by three agencies would reveal the bottom to top links of the scam that has been going on for years in the Transport Department, but the matter remained limited to Saurabh only.
Three complaints were made to Lokayukta
Three more complaints in this matter were made to the Lokayukta. One complaint was made by Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Hemant Katare against the then Transport Minister Bhupendra Singh, the second complaint was made by Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar against former Transport Minister Govind Singh Rajput regarding disproportionate assets. The third complaint was made by an RTI activist from Gwalior regarding the disproportionate assets of four more transport constables working with Saurabh.
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Although both Bhupendra Singh and Govind Rajput had rejected the allegations outright, the investigation into the three complaints in the Lokayukta did not proceed further. Due to lax action of investigating agencies in corruption cases, there is no fear among the corrupt; on an average, every third day in this month, an accused has been caught red-handed taking bribe.
ED has presented challan against 12 people
ED had presented a challan in the special court of Bhopal against 12 accused in this case, in which it was accepted that the gold belonged to Saurabh. ED had accused Saurabh Sharma, his mother, wife Divya Sharma, Sharad Jaiswal, Chetan Singh Gaur, Saurabh's firms and their directors. Saurabh is still in jail.
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He had recently withdrawn his bail plea from the Supreme Court. After the scam was exposed, till date no appointment has been made to the post of Additional Commissioner of Transport in the Transport Headquarters, Gwalior. Indi, Lokayukta and Income Tax Department had raided Saurabh's house in Bhopal.
black money worth crores of rupees
During the operation, assets worth more than Rs 93 crore were found in Saurabh Sharma's possession, which included 52 kg gold found in the car and Rs 10 crore in cash. The Transport Department registered a case at Sirol police station in Gwalior regarding Saurabh getting a job by giving a fake affidavit, but till now the investigation has not been able to move even a step forward. Let us tell you that Saurabh is originally from Gwalior.
The investigation in Saurabh Sharma's case is still going on, hence it will take time to present the challan. In such cases, investigation takes more time.- Yogesh Deshmukh, DG, Lokayukta (Special Police Establishment)