The Madhya Pradesh Police force is in a bind as it faces heat over a corruption scandal involving cops. As many as ten police personnel have been suspended in the case.
The corruption scandal is straight out of a crime thriller. It involves three plots: the seizure of Hawala money, a 50-50 deal, and the suspension of the accused police personnel.
The Hawala Money Seizure
The scandal happened earlier this week between the early hours of Thursday.
Acting on a precise tip-off, Seoni Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDOP) Pooja Pandey, along with her team and Town Inspector (TI) Arpit Bhairam, intercepted a Hyundai Creta near Siladehi in Seoni at around 1.30 am Thursday.
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The Creta, which was travelling from Katni to Maharashtra's Jalna, was said to be carrying Rs 3 crore in Hawala cash. The police team seized the cash hidden in secret compartments beneath the driver's seat.
The men in the car were Hawala operator Sohan Parmar and his associate.
Sources told NDTV that instead of following due legal procedure, the police team quietly transferred the money into their own vehicles, released the two men in the car, and returned without informing senior officials.
By morning, the official seizure report bizarrely mentioned only Rs 1.45 crore, which is less than half of the original amount.
The 50-50 Deal
At around 11.30 am Thursday, SDOP Pandey received a call from Senior Inspector Devendra Uike.
Uike told Pandey that the two men (who were travelling in the Creta) were at the Bandol Police Station in Seoni, claiming that the police had robbed them of Rs 3 crore.
Realising the risk, Pandey summoned Parmar and his associate to her office. What followed, according to police insiders, was a closed-door negotiation that lasted several hours.
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Parmar reportedly agreed to "settle" the matter, demanding that at least half of the money- i.e., Rs 1.5 crore- be returned.
Pandey allegedly agreed to the "50-50 deal," promising to keep Rs 1.5 crore and return the rest. But the deal soon backfired.
When Parmar later counted the cash returned to him, Rs 25.6 lakh was missing. Furious, he went back to the police station demanding the missing money, and the secret deal began to unravel.
As word spread, local journalists got wind of the dramatic confrontation. By Thursday afternoon, chaos had erupted at the police station. Calls were made to senior officers.
The Police Suspensions
Even as some officers tried to suppress this sensational story, the news reached Jabalpur Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Rakesh Singh and Inspector General (IG) Pramod Verma.
Within hours, IG Verma ordered immediate suspensions of nine officers, including TI Arpit Bhairam. The next day, Director General of Police (DGP) Kailash Makwana suspended SDOP Pooja Pandey.
Police sources told NDTV that call detail records (CDRs) of Pandey and her team confirmed that her location matched the site of the cash seizure.
Further, it is suspected that the seized money was stored in a cupboard at the SDOP's office.
Seoni Superintendent of Police (SP) Sunil Mehta confirmed disciplinary action against the personnel.
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