10 cops suspended for 'looting' Rs 1.45 crore hawala money being sent from MP to Maharashtra

Seoni (MP), Oct 10 (PTI) Ten police personnel, including the sub-divisional officer of police (SDOP), from Madhya Pradesh's Seoni district, have been suspended for allegedly looting Rs 1.45 crore of hawala money, being sent to Maharashtra in a four-wheeler after assaulting its driver, an official said on Friday.

The alleged crime came to light after the driver and a businessman, who had sent the money, approached the police, prompting Inspector General of Police (Jabalpur) Pramod Verma to order a probe.

Madhya Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP) Kailash Makwana issued an order suspending SDOP Pooja Pandey based on the report of the IG Jabalpur, an official said.

During the suspension period, she will be posted at the police headquarters in Bhopal, he said.

Seoni Superintendent of Police (SP) Sunil Kumar Mehta told PTI that during a checking operation on Wednesday night, the Bandol police station in-charge and the staff from the office of the SDOP intercepted a four-wheeler in the Siladehi forest.

The cops discovered a large amount of cash, which was being transported from Katni in MP to Jalna in Maharashtra.

However, instead of seizing the cash, they beat up the driver, chased him away and tried to usurp it, he said.

The police team also did not keep their seniors informed about the hawala money. They got exposed after the businessman, who lost the money, reached the Kotwali police station on Thursday morning, he said.

As the serious allegations against the police personnel reached higher-ups in Jabalpur and Bhopal, 10 cops were suspended.

It is also being claimed that there was over Rs 2.96 crore in the vehicle.

The exact amount of money found in the vehicle will be clear after a probe, the official said.

The investigation into the incident was assigned to Jabalpur Additional Superintendent of Police Ayush Gupta, who arrived in Seoni on Thursday night.

The IG has sought a detailed report on the incident within three days, Seoni SP Mehta said.

IG Pramod Verma told PTI that a proposal was sent to the police headquarters in Bhopal for taking action against the SDOP, following which the suspension order was issued.

The other suspended police personnel included sub-inspector Arpit Bhairam, who is the Bandol station in-charge, head constables Makhan and Ravindra Uike, constables Jagdish Yadav, Yogendra Chaurasia, Ritesh (driver), Neeraj Rajput, Kedar and Sadafal, the SP added. PTI COR MAS NR ARU