Probe nexus of transport dept & BJP govt, says Cong

Bhopal: The deputy Leader of Opposition in the state assembly, Hemant Katare, said on Sunday that the joint operation at the premises of former constable in the transport department, Saurabh Sharma, led to the unearthing of property and cash worth Rs 100 crore. Katare said the raid also revealed Sharma's ties with the former chief secretary of the state, Iqbal Singh Bains. The top bureaucrat of the state conniving with a transport constable to amass wealth should not only be a matter of concern for the people of the state but should also let them know how persons occupying high posts in the state are prepared to do anything to mint money by corrupt means.Addressing a press conference at the PCC headquarters, Katare said that he wished to put forth demands and queries on some issues concerning the episode so that the state govt and the administration come clean on them. Saurabh Sharma has been exposed, but who is the real Saurabh, who is running the show in the state, and when would he be exposed?There should be a probe into the activities of the incumbent transport minister and his staff because his information shows that transport barriers are still being run by individuals. Katare also mentioned the names of two persons in this context. He also mentioned two other persons, who are employees of the transport department, and said the property of one of them was attached, but there was no action against him.He further said that Saurabh Sharma is a small fry, but the crocodiles who are running the show, when would their names be revealed? Katare said that in the midst of the Lokayukta raid, in whose vehicle 52 kg of gold was kept and was transported to a farmhouse on the outskirts of the city. The movement of the vehicle should be traced through CCTV cameras.Katare said that Saurabh Sharma joined the service in the transport department on Oct 19, 2010, and on June 10, 2023, he resigned. When, in the tenure of 6 years, he could amass a wealth of hundreds of crores, the volume of money RTIs at the transport barriers and other staff would have made could be easily gauged, said Katare while asking whether there should not be a probe on their assets as well.
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