Madhya Pradesh Cops Make 50-50 Deal With Hawala Operator. Then This Happens

What began as a secret midnight operation to seize hawala cash in Madhya Pradesh's Seoni has snowballed into one of the most sensational police corruption scandals in the state's recent history. Five police personnel, including a senior woman officer, were arrested after Chief Minister Mohan Yadav took a tough stand, declaring that “those who break the law will not be spared, not even those meant to protect it.”

The case, which unfolded between the night of October 8 and 9, began when Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDOP) Pooja Pandey, along with Town Inspector (TI) Arpit Bhairam and their team, intercepted a Creta car near Siladehi village in Seoni on a tip-off that it was carrying Rs 3 crore in hawala cash from Katni to Jalna in Maharashtra. The officers allegedly seized the money, which was hidden in secret compartments beneath the driver's seat. But instead of following due legal procedure, the police team reportedly transferred the cash into their own vehicles, released the men in the car, and returned to the station without informing higher officials.

By morning, the official report bizarrely mentioned only Rs 1.45 crore, less than half of the original sum.

What followed was a spiral of panic, deceit, and exposure. Around 11:30 am the next day, hawala operator Sohan Parmar stormed the police station claiming the officers had “robbed” him of Rs 3 crore. Sources say that SDOP Pandey then called Parmar to her office for a closed-door meeting that turned into a heated negotiation. Eventually, an alleged “50-50 deal” was struck, the officers would keep Rs 1.5 crore and return the rest. But when Parmar later found Rs 25.6 lakh missing from the returned amount, the fragile truce collapsed.

Furious, he confronted the officers again, and the scandal began to unravel.

As whispers spread and local reporters arrived at the scene, the story exploded. Within hours, Jabalpur DIG Rakesh Singh and IG Pramod Verma were informed. Immediate suspensions followed nine officers first, and by the next day, SDOP Pooja Pandey was suspended. Investigations revealed that the SDOP's phone location matched the forest site where the cash was intercepted, and some of the missing money was allegedly stashed inside her office cupboard.

Under the direct instructions of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, the case has escalated into full-blown criminal proceedings. An FIR has been registered against 11 accused officers at Lakhanwada Police Station under Section 395 (Dacoity), Section 364 (Kidnapping), and Section 120B (Criminal Conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

Five officers, SDOP Pooja Pandey, SI Arpit Bhairam, Constable Yogendra, Constable Neeraj, and Constable Jagdeesh, are in custody. “When the protectors of law become its destroyers, such betrayal will not be tolerated," Chief Minister Yadav said.

As investigations continue, the Seoni hawala heist stands as a stunning reminder of how greed and power can corrode the very institution meant to uphold justice and how, this time, the law has turned its gaze inward.