Former constable of Madhya Pradesh Transport Department, Saurabh Sharma, who is accused of amassing disproportionate assets worth crores, was arrested by the Lokayukta Police on Thursday after being on the run for more than a month.
Mr. Sharma, who made headlines after multiple agencies raided locations linked to him in December recovering assets worth crores, has been arrested a day after he filed a surrender application before a court.
Jaideep Prasad, Director General, Lokayukta, told reporters that he has been taken into custody and was being interrogated.
“Saurabh Sharma, against whom a case has been registered with the Lokayukt Organisation under the Prevention of Corruption Act, has been taken into custody. Interrogation is underway, and after questioning, he will be arrested and presented in court within 24 hours,” Mr. Prasad said, that the officers are interrogating him about his associates and his whereabouts while he was absconding.
His associates will also be arrested soon, the DG, Lokayukta, said.
“Our police had been active since yesterday (Monday) when we learned about the possibility of his presence in Bhopal,” he added.
Mr. Sharma’s lawyer Rakesh Parashar, however, termed the arrest “illegal” saying that he was scheduled to appear before the court on Tuesday morning but was detained before that.
Mr. Sharma had been appointed a constable in the State Transport Department on compassionate grounds in 2015 after his father’s death. He, however, opted for voluntary retirement in 2023.
Apart from the Lokayukta, various agencies such as the Income Tax Department and the Enforcement Directorate have also launched their own investigations against him after conducting raids.
In the first set of raids at his locations on December 18 and 20, Lokayukta teams had unearthed assets about Rs7.9 crore, including jewellery, over 230 kg silver and Rs2.87 crore in cash.
The IT Department had also seized a car with Rs10 crore in cash and 52 kg of gold from the outskirts of Bhopal, which turned out to be registered under the name of Mr. Sharma’s associate Chetan Singh Gaud.
Other searches by the agencies also recovered crores of rupees worth assets allegedly amassed through corrupt practices and brokering deals for appointments and transfers.
Summons had also been issued to Mr. Sharma’s wife, mother, Mr. Gaud and another associate.
