A scene from the 1977 Hindi film 'Immaan Dharam' shows Amitabh Bachchan walking into a courtroom and delivering a confident, exaggerated testimony in favour of Gullu Miyan that leaves the judge and lawyers stunned. When asked how tall "Gullu Miyan" is, he raises one hand. But when the lawyer reveals that Gullu Miyan is actually a rooster, Amitabh calmly raises the other hand, adjusting his lie with another lie. Nearly five decades later, something eerily similar appears to have played out not on a film set but inside police records in Mauganj, Madhya Pradesh, where an investigation has revealed that a small group of people drivers, cooks, sweepers, vegetable vendors and even a physically disabled man were repeatedly used as "professional witnesses" in hundreds of criminal cases across multiple police stations.
The revelations have emerged from the police's own Crime and Criminal Tracking and Network System (CCTNS), which shows a striking and troubling pattern in the Indragarhi and Naigarhi police station areas of Mauganj. According to the portal, Amit Kushwaha, the personal driver of then Station House Officer Jagdish Singh Thakur, and Dinesh Kushwaha, a vegetable vendor who also cooked at the police station, are jointly listed as witnesses or informants in 106 cases. In 18 cases, Amit Kushwaha is the sole listed witness. These cases include offences related to cannabis, illegal liquor and arms. Records indicate that wherever Jagdish Singh Thakur was posted, Amit Kushwaha's name appeared as a witness in the cases registered there, leading to the local description of him as a "travelling witness" who moved with the officer rather than with the crime.
The anomalies deepen on closer inspection. In 2020, Amit Kushwaha's age was recorded in official records as 20 years. In 2025, five years later, his age is recorded as only 21. In one case, he is even listed not as a witness but as the complainant himself. Dinesh Kushwaha, whose name appears alongside Amit in more than a hundred cases, says he actually testified in only one case during Thakur's tenure, a cannabis-related matter, and does not know how or why his name appears in so many FIRs. "I sell vegetables and sometimes cook at the police station. I have signed in two or three places, that is true, but they write the names themselves. I am a poor man. Should I run my shop or keep going to Mauganj and Rewa to give testimony?" he said.
Other names in the CCTNS records point to a similar pattern. Arun Tiwari, a physically disabled resident living near the police station, is listed as a witness and informant along with Amit Kushwaha in six cases. In a disturbing twist, a robbery case was later registered against Arun himself at the Naigarhi police station on May 19, 2025. Arun says he was out of town between May 17 and May 19. The FIR states that the incident occurred on May 19, while the case itself was registered on May 21. The same man who had been repeatedly used by the system as a witness was suddenly turned into an accused.
Ramakant Yadav, a cleaner at the Naigarhi police station, is listed as a witness in 14 cases. He says he does not remember under what circumstances he became a witness and has never been to court to give testimony. Rahul Vishwakarma, who drives the police station's vehicle, is listed as a witness in 18 cases. "I have never gone to give testimony. When people were brought after arrest, they would write things down during Jagdish Singh's time. I didn't sign. I just drove the car," he said.
Based on the portal data and preliminary scrutiny, it is alleged that more than 500 cases between 2022 and 2025 were registered based on such "fixed" or "pocket" witnesses, and that over 150 FIRs across police stations where Jagdish Singh Thakur was posted, including Naigarhi, may be fake or manipulated. Social activist and complainant Kunjbihari Tiwari, who brought the matter to the attention of senior officials, said, "The same person is a witness in more than 150 FIRs. Just like officers get transferred, this witness goes with them. Even if five incidents happen in a single day, the witness is always the same. They keep witnesses in their pocket. If no action is taken, we will go to the High Court."
After the issue came to light, Mauganj Superintendent of Police Dilip Kumar Soni removed Jagdish Singh Thakur from the Naigarhi police station and transferred him to the police lines. The matter has been handed over to the Sub Divisional Police Officer (SDOP) for investigation.
"I have received a complaint, and we are investigating it. Whatever legal action is necessary will be taken based on the facts," SP Soni said.
Former Assembly Speaker and BJP MLA Girish Gautam also acknowledged the seriousness of the issue, saying, "An investigation will be conducted, and action will be taken. Even the Supreme Court has taken strict views in such cases. These are called set-up witnesses, and this is wrong."
