# Retired PWD engineer, 3 others booked after Rs 3.02 crore cash seized in MP 2026-08-22T14:50:21+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet The Lokayukta Special Police Establishment (SPE) has registered an FIR against retired Public Works Department (PWD) engineer Ramesh Ahirwar, his wife Sahodra Bai, Saurabh Ahirwar and his brother Ankit Ahirwar after police recovered Rs 3.02 crore in cash from a house in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh. The raid on August 16 followed a social media post showing auto driver Saurabh Ahirwar with a gun-shaped lighter. Police seized the cash from a locked almirah at Saurabh's residence. Saurabh told investigators the money belonged to his distant relative, retired PWD engineer Ramesh Ahirwar. Though Ramesh initially denied any connection, investigators traced a barcode on the almirah to a purchase by his wife Sahodra Bai in 2025. The couple had bought the Rs 34,000 almirah, which was allegedly used to store the cash at Saurabh's house. Saurabh had earlier worked as Ramesh's driver. Police also found a Rs 50,000 transaction in the bank account of Saurabh and Ankit's aunt, linking the brothers further. The Lokayukta has formed a five-member team led by a deputy superintendent of police to investigate. Investigators will examine Ramesh Ahirwar's salary records, land holdings, houses, bank accounts and other assets as part of a disproportionate assets inquiry involving benami cash. ## Indian Opinion Analysis This case follows a pattern of Lokayukta raids in Madhya Pradesh targeting alleged benami assets held by retired government engineers. The recovery of Rs 3.02 crore, far exceeding a PWD engineer's lifetime savings, triggers a disproportionate assets probe under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The next step is scrutiny of Ramesh Ahirwar's declared assets versus income over his service period, with possible attachment of properties if the cash cannot be explained. A key signal is whether the Lokayukta files a charge sheet within the 60-day statutory period for corruption cases. ## Coverage - hindustantimes.com Straight factual reporting of FIR, raid details, and investigation steps without editorial comment or government alignment This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Lokayukta, Madhya Pradesh, Prevention of Corruption Act, PWD, Ramesh Ahirwar, SAGAR Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/retired-pwd-engineer-3-others-booked-after-rs-3-02-crore-cash-seized-in-mp/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/retired-pwd-engineer-3-others-booked-after-rs-3-02-crore-cash-seized-in-mp/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/