Jabalpur: The Economic Offences Wing raided three premises of a Regional Transport Office (RTO) official and his wife in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur city and found Rs 16 lakh cash and other assets allegedly amassed by them, officials said on Thursday. It was also found that the couple had assets "650 times higher" compared to their known sources of income, according to EOW Superintendent of Police Devendra Singh Rajput. The raids started late Wednesday night after a complaint that the RTO official Santosh Paul and his wife Lekha Paul, who worked as a clerk in the RTO office, had wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income, he said.
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The assets are valued at 650 per cent more than the income of Santosh Pal, the regional transport officer, and his wife Rekha Pal. Applicants Dheeraj Kukreja and Swapnil Sarraf had filed a complaint against Santosh Pal in the Special Court Lokayukta in the disproportionate assets case. Based on the evidence received in the verification, the EOW team has registered a case against him under Section 13 (1) B, 13 (2) Corruption Act 1988 Amendment Act, 2018 and started an investigation. Pal is not new to controversies.
He has been accused of many serious allegations like threatening an auto driver and arbitrary recovery from motorists. Santosh Paul remains in the headlines due to many cases including illegal recovery on the highway. There has also been an investigation against Santosh Paul in the case of fake caste certificates.
During the searches, the EOW sleuths found Rs 16 lakh in cash, jewellery and some documents, he said. As per an investigation into the complaint, the couple owns five houses, a farmhouse, a car, SUV and two two-wheelers, the official said. A case was registered against Paul and his wife under relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, he said. The searches are still continuing, he added.
