Lokayukta Raids Satpura Tiger Reserve Officer, Finds 2.5 kg Gold and ₹26 Lakh Cash

Madhya Pradesh Lokayukta teams searched the properties of Sanjeev Sharma, a Sub-Divisional Officer at the Satpura Tiger Reserve, on Saturday and recovered about 2.5 kg of gold, more than ₹26 lakh in cash and papers for two hotel properties, National Herald reported, citing IANS.

Where the searches took place

The raids began at around 7 am on 14 November, following a complaint that the officer held assets out of proportion to his income. A special court in Narmadapuram issued the search warrant. Teams went to Sharma’s official residence and office in Pachmarhi, a government quarters there, and his ancestral house in Professor Colony, Chhindwara. Lokayukta Superintendent of Police Sunil Patidar led the team in Pachmarhi.

What was found

• Cash: ₹26.36 lakh (₹23.35 lakh in Pachmarhi and about ₹3 lakh in Chhindwara)
• Gold: about 2.53 kg, valued at roughly ₹3.5 crore
• Silver: about 1.66 kg
• Four vehicles worth ₹31.20 lakh and household goods worth around ₹50 lakh
• Ecotel Hotel and Resort at Matkuli, estimated at ₹2 crore, and Serenity The Villa in Pachmarhi, valued at about ₹1 crore
• 28 documents linked to land deals

Two locked cupboards were found at the Chhindwara house. The keys are reportedly with Sharma.

Assets far above income

Lokayukta Deputy SP Virendra Singh said early checks put the assets 228 per cent above Sharma’s known income, and preliminary calculations could take that to 560 per cent. The provisional estimate is about ₹7.6 crore. The hotels, land, plots and shops are still being valued, and bank accounts and investments are under review, so the figure could go up.

Featured image: Pachmarhi valley Madhya Pradesh INDIA by Abhayashok, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Sources

• National Herald — Gold, cash and hotel documents found in raids on MP forest officer