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Madhya Pradesh: 11 cops booked for extortion bid during hawala money seizure
The police team had allegedly seized approximately ₹2.9 crore from a Nagpur-based businessman in the first week of October but only showed ₹1.45 crore in the report
Bhopal: Eleven police personnel, including a woman sub-divisional officer of police (SDOP), have been booked for an alleged extortion bid during a hawala money seizure in Seoni, Madhya Pradesh.
Police have arrested Seoni SDOP Pooja Pandey, sub-inspector Arpit Bhairam, and constables Yogendra, Neeraj, and Jagdish while six others are absconding.
The police team had allegedly seized approximately ₹3 crore from a Nagpur-based businessman, Sohan Parmar, in the intervening night of October 8 and 9 and released the accused without taking any action by making a deal with him. However, the deal went wrong and the matter came to light.
Jabalpur IG Pramod Verma said, “On October 8, a police team led by SDOP intercepted businessman Sandeep Parmar and two others when they were going to Nagpur and seized ₹3 crores. Later, they had a deal of distributing money among themselves for not registering the case. The ₹1.5 crore was kept by SDOP and ₹1.5 crore handed over to the businessman. The businessman reached Nagpur on October 9 and found ₹25 lakhs missing. He returned to Seoni and tried to talk to SDOP and also Kotwali police station in-charge. In between, somebody informed the media and senior police officers about the deal.”
“A probe was ordered and late on October 9, an additional superintendent of police (ASP) seized ₹1.45 crore from SDOP’s office,” he added.
Police arrested Parmar and his two employees, Sheikh Mukhtar and Imran Pathan, on October 10 and they are being interrogated to know who is the real kingpin in the case.
On October 11, Jabalpur range IG Pramod Verma suspended nine police officers, including station in-charge Arpit Bhairam while DGP Kailash Makwana suspended SDOP Pooja Pandey in connection with the misconduct.
“Police also booked 11 police personnel for dacoity on the complaint of one of the businessmen,” the IG said.
In the money laundering case, the police have also arrested two accused, Akash Jain and Aman Gurnani, from Nagpur, and seized ₹1 crore and ₹25 lakh, respectively. The Crime Branch team has brought both the accused to Jabalpur.
The case registered against the accused police personnel includes charges under sections 310(2) (dacoity), 126(2) (wrongful restraint), 140(3) (kidnapping), and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Chief minister Mohan Yadav said, “Maintaining law and order in the state, creating a crime-free environment, and protecting citizens are the primary responsibilities of police officers and employees. The state government will not tolerate police officers who act beyond their duties. Those found guilty in the Seoni incident will face strict disciplinary and legal action.”
