Mohan Yadav Government Reshuffles Transport Commissioner After Major Asset Seizures Linked to Ex-RTO Constable

Bhopal, Jan 2 (NationPress) In a significant reshuffle occurring shortly after the discovery and recovery of assets worth crores from the properties associated with ex-RTO constable Saurabh Sharma, the Madhya Pradesh government under Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Thursday transferred and reposted three senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officers, including the state Transport Commissioner D.P. Gupta.

The 1994-batch IPS officer D.P. Gupta is now appointed as the Additional Director General (ADG) at the police headquarters (PHQ). He previously took over as Transport Commissioner in February 2024. The new Commissioner of the state Transport Department is Vivek Sharma, an ADG of police (PHQ planning) from the 1988-batch.

Yogesh Choudhary, another ADG, has been assigned additional responsibilities for planning at (PHQ).

A notification confirming these changes was issued by the General Administration Department (GAD) of Madhya Pradesh on Thursday.

This shift comes amidst rising concerns over the state's Transport Department following the recovery of assets worth crores from Saurabh Sharma and his associates, conducted by various agencies in recent days.

Separate operations by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Income Tax Department, and the Special Establishment Police (SEP) of Lokayukta targeted several locations linked to Sharma and his associates in places like Bhopal and Gwalior.

The initial recovery occurred during a Lokayukta raid last week, where officials discovered that Sharma possessed movable assets totaling Rs 7.98 crore, which included Rs 2.87 crore in cash and 235 kg of silver.

Additionally, numerous real estate investment documents and a cash-counting machine were confiscated from properties associated with Sharma.

In a follow-up raid, the Income Tax Department uncovered 52 kg of gold bars valued at Rs 40 crore and over Rs 11 crore in cash from an abandoned SUV in Bhopal.

This SUV was registered to Chetan Singh Gaud, an alleged close associate of Sharma.

Officials suspect that the recovered assets are linked to Sharma, though official confirmation is still awaited.

In light of the Lokayukta FIR, the ED has initiated a money laundering investigation against Sharma, conducting raids in Bhopal, Gwalior, and Jabalpur last Friday.

During these raids, the ED reportedly confiscated financial documents, assets, and electronic data from laptops and computers across various locations.

Sharma was appointed as a constable in the Transport Department in 2015 on compassionate grounds following his father's death, who was a government doctor. He retired voluntarily in 2023. Authorities claim that Sharma accumulated wealth through corrupt practices, including the establishment of a school and a hotel under the names of his mother, wife, sister-in-law, and close associates Chetan Gaud and Sharad Jaiswal.

Documents retrieved from Sharma's home and office indicate transactions amounting to crores, implying a significant influx of cash.

However, it appears that Sharma was concerned about the potential depreciation of large cash amounts over time, prompting him to prefer investments in precious metals.

This situation has sparked political controversy, with opposition parties accusing the ruling BJP of corruption. The opposition has raised questions regarding the government's stance on corruption-related issues.

Nevertheless, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has maintained that his administration has a strict policy of zero tolerance towards corruption.