Lokayukta registers case against retired PWD engineer in Sagar over ₹3 cr cash seizure

Bhopal: The Sagar unit of Lokayukta’s Special Establishment Unit (SPE) has registered a disproportionate assets case against retired PWD engineer Ramesh Ahirwar and his relatives following the seizure of around Rs 3 crore in cash from a house in Sagar, officials said.The case is a follow-up to the police seizure earlier this week, when the cash was recovered during a search triggered by a social media post showing a man allegedly posing with a pistol. The weapon turned out to be a pistol-shaped lighter, but police found a bag containing nearly Rs 3 crore in cash inside a locked almirah.According to officials, the cash was found at a house in the Tili Tigadda area under Gopalganj police station. The occupants told police that the money did not belong to them and had allegedly been left there eight to nine months ago by their relative Ramesh Ahirwar, a retired PWD engineer now living in Bhopal’s Chunabhatti area.Lokayukta has now taken up the source of the cash as a disproportionate assets matter and registered a case against the retired engineer and his relatives. Investigators are examining his known sources of income, assets and financial transactions to establish whether the seized amount is disproportionate to his declared income.The cash was seized after police brought currency-counting machines to the house. The search and seizure were videographed and conducted in the presence of witnesses. Police had also informed Income Tax Department and Lokayukta after the recovery.The police search had originally been launched as part of Sagar’s crackdown on people displaying firearms and weapons on social media. During the exercise, investigators spotted a photograph of Saurabh Ahirwar allegedly posing with a pistol and traced him to the Tili Tigadda house.The suspected firearm was found to be a lighter. However, during the search, police noticed a locked almirah. Family members said they did not have the key. The almirah was opened in the presence of witnesses and the cash-filled bag was recovered.Police said Saurabh works as a driver and his brother drives an auto-rickshaw. The family claimed the cash belonged to Ramesh and had been kept at their house for several months.