Huge transactions mentioned in diary recovered from ex-transport dept staffer in MP Congress

    Bhopal, Jan 12 (PTI) The Congress on Sunday alleged rampant corruption in the Madhya Pradesh transport department, claiming the mention of “huge” transactions in a diary recently recovered by the Lokayukta police from an ex-staffer.


    MP Congress chief Jitu Patwari claimed that there is a threat to the life of former transport department constable Saurabh Sharma, whose premises were raided last month leading to the discovery of the diary.

    Rubbishing the charges, the BJP said it seems Patwari was recalling the Congress’ 15-month government, which he said was marked by corruption.

    Addressing a press conference here, Patwari quoted media reports to allege that just six pages of the diary mention talk about Rs 1,300 crore illegally collected at the transport department’s check-posts in the state.
    These are only six pages of the 66-page diary, he claimed.

    After the Lokayukta police, the Income Tax and Enforcement Directorate carried out raids, but the probe seems to be stalled and nobody is taking responsibility for these six pages, he said.

    Patwari said none of these agencies knows the whereabouts of Sharma. He should be given security as his life is under threat, claimed the Congress leader.

    State BJP spokesman Pankaj Chaturvedi rejected the allegations and said Patwari perhaps remembered his party’s government under Kamal Nath when he was a cabinet minister. During Nath’s tenure, the state secretariat was a hub of corruption, he said.
    Following the 2018 assembly polls, the Congress formed the government in MP with Nath as the chief minister, but it fell after 15 months when Jyotiraditya Scindia, now a Union minister, and his loyalists defected to the BJP.

    It is under the BJP government, that the investigating agencies have raided Sharma, Chaturvedi said.


    The BJP leader said their government has a zero-tolerance policy against corruption and has taken action against graft on several occasions.

    During the Lokayukta raid on December 19, the authorities seized Rs 3 crore in cash and 200 kg of silver ingots besides many documents of benami properties from the residence of Sharma.
    The same day, the I-T department also recovered over 50 kg of gold and around Rs 11 crore from a car owned by an associate of the ex-constable. Subsequently, the ED searched the premises of Sharma and his associates.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)