MP News: Income-Tax Department To Seize 52 Kg Gold, ₹11 Crore Cash Linked To Ex-RTO Constable Saurabh Sharma

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Income-Tax department will seize 52 kg gold, ₹11 crore in cash and the car from which the gold and cash were recovered.

The assets allegedly belong to former RTO constable Saurabh Sharma and his associate Chetan Singh Gour. The property will be deposited in the government treasury.

The I-Tax department's adjudicating authority has upheld the action taken by the Bhopal-based Benami Prohibition Unit (BPU). The authority declared Saurabh Sharma the real owner of the gold.

Saurabh came into limelight in December 2024 when the Lokayukta, the ED and the I-Tax department raided his premises.

During the raid, ?11 crore in cash and 51.8 kg of gold were seized from an Innova car in Mendori, Bhopal, on the night of December 18 and 19. The seizure was also linked to Sharma.

The adjudicating authority under the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act (PBPT Act), Mumbai, confirmed the provisional attachment order passed by the Benami Prohibition Unit, Bhopal, under the PBPT Act, 1988. The attachment included 52 kg of gold, ?11.6 crore in cash and a vehicle, with a total value of ?52 crore at the time of attachment in August 2025. The assets are now estimated to be worth around ?100 crore.

The transaction has been adjudicated as a benami transaction under Section 2(9)(A) of the Act, with Chetan Singh Gour identified as the benamidar and Saurabh Sharma as the beneficial owner.

Opportunity to claim property

The I-T department will give an opportunity to Sharma and Gour to claim their rights over the seized property.

If they do not make a claim, the property will be auctioned and the amount will be deposited in the Government of India treasury.