Madhya Pradesh: Rs 85 lakh found at MP govt clerk's home; he consumes toxic liquid during search

Madhya Pradesh, MP govt clerk, govt clerk, Rs 85 lakh found at MP govt clerk's home — Image Source : PTI (FILE IMAGE) During the search at the residence of upper division clerk Hero Keswani, currently drawing a salary of around Rs 50,000 per month, an EOW team also recovered documents pertaining to several properties worth crores of rupees.

Highlights

Clerk consumed some liquid that was suspected to be poisonous during search
Police also recovered documents pertaining to properties worth crores of rupees
A note counting machine was brought to compute the exact value of the pile of cash

The Madhya Pradesh police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW), probing a disproportionate assets complaint, recovered more than Rs 85 lakh in cash from the Bhopal home of a state government clerk who consumed some liquid that was suspected to be poisonous during a search on Wednesday.

During the search at the residence of upper division clerk Hero Keswani, currently drawing a salary of around Rs 50,000 per month, an EOW team also recovered documents pertaining to several properties worth crores of rupees.

Amounts running into lakhs of rupees were found deposited in bank accounts of Keswani's family members. He had purchased most of the properties in the name of his wife, a homemaker with no source of income, the official said. Overall value of the assets unearthed during the search will be known only after completion of valuation work and verification of documents, Mishra said.

By the evening, more than Rs 85 lakh in cash had been found besides the documents related to immovable properties and other assets worth crores of rupees at Keswani's residence. It is estimated that he owns properties worth Rs four crore. Keswani's plush residence, where costly decorative items were found, itself was worth around Rs 1.5 crore, the EOW official said. The SP said the clerk had started his job at a salary of about Rs 4,000 a month and was currently drawing around Rs 50,000 per month.

The search operation continued till late on Wednesday night and a note counting machine was brought to compute the exact value of the pile of cash found at his home located in the Bairagarh area. The upper division clerk, attached to the state Medical Education Department, claimed to have consumed bathroom cleaner when the EOW team reached his house, Superintendent of Police (EOW) Rajesh Mishra said. Keswani also tried to stop officials from searching his home and pushed them, he said. "He was rushed to the state-run Hamidia Hospital. His condition is stable and he is undergoing treatment for blood pressure-related problems," the SP said.