Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], March 24 (ANI): Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly and Congress leader Umang Singhar on Monday announced that the party would approach the Supreme Court over the alleged state transport department scam and the corruption case involving former department constable Saurabh Sharma.
Singhar’s statement came a day after Jaideep Prasad, the in-charge Director General (DG) of Lokayukta, who was investigating the case, was transferred. According to an order issued by the state government on Sunday, Prasad has been reassigned as Additional Director General (ADG) of the State Crime Record Bureau (SCRB) at the police headquarters in Bhopal.
Speaking to ANI in the state assembly, Singhar said, “The way DG Lokayukta, Jaideep Prasad, who was investigating the case of Saurabh Sharma, has been removed (referring to transfer) it is clear that the government wants to suppress the whole matter. In our next step, we will move to the Supreme Court in connection with the Saurabh Sharam corruption case and transport department scam.”
Reacting to the LoP’s remarks, Madhya Pradesh Transport Minister Uday Pratap Singh said that in a democracy, everyone has the right to address their concerns. “I think they (the opposition) should go. Everyone has the right to be heard in a democracy, and they should exercise their rights,” the Minister told reporters.
Madhya Pradesh Congress legislators have repeatedly raised the Saurabh Sharma corruption case in the state assembly during the budget session. They also staged a walkout, demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the matter.
Earlier, Singhar alleged that state minister Govind Singh Rajput, who previously held the transport portfolio, was involved in the scam and demanded action against him. He questioned why transport ministers from 2013 onwards had not been investigated and why key individuals had not been called for interrogation or had their call records examined.
The Madhya Pradesh Lokayukta police had registered a case against former transport department constable Saurabh Sharma under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. Searches at multiple locations linked to Sharma uncovered assets suspected to be disproportionate to his known sources of income.
Following the investigation, the Lokayukta police arrested Sharma and his associates, Chetan Singh Gaur and Sharad Jaiswal. They were produced before the court and subsequently sent to jail.
On December 19 and 20 last year, the Lokayukta recovered assets worth several crores from two residences linked to Sharma, located at E-7/78 and E-7/657 in Arera Colony, Bhopal.
In a related development, Bhopal police and Income Tax (IT) officials recovered 52 kg of gold worth over Rs 40 crore and Rs 9.86 crore in cash from an abandoned car. The vehicle, registered under the name of Chetan Singh Gaur, was discovered late at night on December 19 near Mendori-Kushalpur Road under Ratibad police station limits. Upon receiving information, officials seized the car and its contents. (ANI)
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