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Retired PWD engineer, wife, 2 others booked after ₹3.02cr cash found in MP house
Investigators will examine Ramesh Ahirwar’s salary records, land holdings, houses, bank accounts, investments and other assets
The Lokayukta Special Police Establishment (SPE) registered a first information report against a retired Public Works Department (PWD) engineer and three others after police recovered ₹3.2 crore in cash from an auto driver’s house in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar, officers said on Saturday.
The raid followed a social media post showing auto driver Saurabh Ahirwar with a gun-shaped lighter. During a search of his residence near Tili Tigadda on August 16, police seized ₹3.02 crore in cash from a locked almirah. Saurabh told investigators that the money belonged to his distant relative, retired PWD engineer Ramesh Kumar Ahirwar.
Ramesh initially denied any connection to the cash. However, investigators found a barcode on the almirah and traced it to a purchase made by his wife, Sahodra Bai in 2025. The couple had bought the ₹34,000 almirah, which was allegedly used to store the cash at Saurabh’s house. Saurabh had earlier worked as Ramesh’s driver.
Sagar Lokayukta superintendent of police DK Rathore said that an FIR has been registered against Ramesh Ahirwar, his wife Sahodra Bai, Saurabh Ahirwar and his brother Ankit Ahirwar.
“Cash and the almirah have been seized. All aspects of the case are under investigation,” Rathore said.
Police also found a ₹50,000 transaction in the bank account of Saurabh and Ankit’s aunt, further linking the brothers to the case. The Lokayukta has constituted a five-member team led by a deputy superintendent of police to investigate the matter.
Investigators will examine Ramesh Ahirwar’s salary records, land holdings, houses, bank accounts, investments and other assets as part of a disproportionate assets inquiry involving benami cash.
