Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav on Friday ordered the suspension of a police superintendent for allegedly striking a land deal with the family of a murder accused in exchange for his release.
“Negligence, external pressure, or the misuse of office at any level regarding law and order matters will not be tolerated under any circumstances. An impartial high-level inquiry into the entire matter will be conducted, and strict action against the guilty will be ensured,” said Yadav on X, as he took cognisance of the matter and directed the chief secretary to suspend Katni police superintendent Neha Pachisia.
Pachisia’s office was sealed after a case was registered against her and two other accused, Maroof Ahmed Hanfi and Kshitij Raj Barapatre. The three have been booked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita’s sections 61 (forgery of valuable documents), 198 (false statements), 199 (false declarations),307 (theft after preparation made for causing death, hurt, or restraint) and 318(4) (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property).
The family of Akash Lodhi, who was released on bail in July after his arrest in April for the murder of a tribal man, alleged that Pachisia pressured them to sell 2.15 hectares of land in exchange for relief. Pachisia and a police station in charge allegedly demanded money to alter court statements and secure the release of all accused.
{{/usCountry}}The family of Akash Lodhi, who was released on bail in July after his arrest in April for the murder of a tribal man, alleged that Pachisia pressured them to sell 2.15 hectares of land in exchange for relief. Pachisia and a police station in charge allegedly demanded money to alter court statements and secure the release of all accused.
{{/usCountry}}A probe found the guideline value of the land exceeded ₹82 lakh, but the sale deed was allegedly executed for ₹18.20 lakh through police coercion. “It was found that Maroof Ahmed Hanafi, named as the buyer in the documents, did not have sufficient funds in his account. On April 15, the day of registration, ₹10 lakh was credited to his account by Shine Partners and another ₹5 lakh by Kshitij Raj Barapatre. This exposed the corruption charges,” said the probe report.
Inspector general (Jabalpur range) Pramod Kumar Verma directed an inquiry.
In October 2025, sub-divisional police officer Pooja Pandey was among those arrested for extortion, robbery, and criminal conspiracy for embezzling the seized hawala money from a Nagpur-based businessman in Seoni and letting the accused go without action.