MP court sentences former executive engineer to 5 years of RI in 2002 disproportionate assets case

Khargone (MP), Sep 9 (PTI) A special court in Madhya Pradesh's Khargone district has convicted a former executive engineer in a 24-year-old disproportionate assets case and sentenced him to five years of rigorous imprisonment.

In an order passed on Tuesday, First Additional Sessions Judge and Special Court Judge Rajkumar Chauhan also imposed a fine of Rs 25 lakh on convict Kailashchandra Parwal.

The case against Parwal was filed in 2002, Special public prosecutor and Assistant Director of Prosecution Prakash Solanki said.

On September 6, 2002, Shailendra Joshi, a resident of Dhar, complained to the Lokayukta that Parwal, the then executive engineer, had demanded a bribe of Rs 50,000 from him. Acting on the complaint, the Lokayukta caught Parwal red-handed while accepting the bribe, the prosecution said.

During the investigation of the case, it came to light that Parwal had acquired assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. Subsequently, his residences in Khargone, Dewas, and Indore were searched, and documents related to bank accounts, insurance policies, and other investments were examined, it added.

According to the investigation, between August 1, 1981, and September 8, 2002, Parwal's income from known sources was Rs 34,64,528, while he spent Rs 1,08,70,213 during this period. Thus, assets and expenses worth Rs 74,05,690 were found to be disproportionate to his known sources of income, representing a 213.75 percent excess.

Lokayukta Indore stated that a case was registered under section 13 (1) (e) read with section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The investigation was completed and a chargesheet was filed in the special court in Mandleshwar.

During the trial, the prosecution recorded the statements of approximately 131 witnesses and presented over 500 documents. The defence, with the permission of the high court, presented seven witnesses and presented approximately 350 documents.

The court convicted Parwal based on the available evidence and sentenced him.

Following the verdict, the accused was sent to the Mandleshwar sub-jail.