Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Lokayukta’s Special Police Establishment (SPE) has unearthed more than 15 bank accounts linked to retired RTO constable Saurabh Sharma and his family members, officials said on Sunday. The SEP has directed banks to freeze transactions in all accounts associated with Sharma and his family.
Lokayukta police conducted searches and raids on December 19 last year at two residential premises of Sharma. Investigating officer Virendra Singh Gaur told Free Press that the agency is acting based on evidence unearthed during the searches. A letter has been sent to the banks to halt all transactions in Sharma and his family members account with immediate effect, he said. Banks have also been instructed to share details of all the related accounts.
During the raid, the sleuths found several incriminating documents including property-related documents, such as land registries and land contracts. Officials said that the amounts mentioned in these documents would be added to Sharma’s total assets.
Real property owner to be ascertained
The agency will ascertain whether the people- other than Sharma and his family members- in whose names the properties were registered were actually the rightful owners. A list of individuals figured in the recovered property documents has been prepared. These people will be summoned for questioning to determine whether they were capable of purchasing the properties when they were acquired. If not, the properties will be classified as benami and since the documents were found in Sharma’s residence, it would be assumed that he is the real owner of these properties.
Wife’s maiden name used
Police officials said that some of the properties of Divya Sharma (Saurabh’s wife) are registered in her maiden name - Divya Tiwari, daughter of Salil Tiwari. Officials suspect that this was done to avoid detection. Instead of using her husband’s name, Divya's father name was mentioned to prevent suspicion from falling on Saurabh Sharma.
