A senior police officer in Madhya Pradesh has been suspended and is currently untraceable following an FIR related to an alleged coercive land deal in Katni. Authorities have launched an investigation into claims that the officer pressured a murder accused's family to sell land at a significantly undervalued price. The case was escalated through the state's Chief Minister Helpline.
The Madhya Pradesh government has suspended a senior police officer following a formal police complaint regarding an alleged coercive land transaction in the Katni district. Neha Pachisia, who served as the City Superintendent of Police in Katni, was named in an FIR along with two other individuals following an inquiry into property irregularities. The officer has reportedly gone untraceable as investigations proceed and has approached a local court for anticipatory bail.
The case stems from allegations that the family of a murder accused, Akash Lodhi, was forced to sell 2.15 hectares of land while Lodhi was in custody. According to the complaint, the family was allegedly held under duress before the land sale was registered for a reported ₹1.07 crore. However, the family claims they received only a small fraction of the payment, with the remainder never disbursed. An initial probe by authorities revealed significant discrepancies between the land's official guideline value of over ₹82 lakh and the value recorded in the sale documents, which stood at approximately ₹18.20 lakh.
The investigation was prompted after the victim's family escalated their grievance through the Chief Minister’s Helpline. This action triggered a high-level administrative inquiry into the transaction. Authorities have since sealed the officer's office and formed a special team to track the individuals named in the FIR.
This development occurs amid existing scrutiny regarding the officer's professional conduct. Prior to this case, she was facing a separate preliminary inquiry involving a transport operator who alleged that she demanded money to prevent a vehicle from being impounded. Following that initial complaint, her driver was suspended, and her administrative jurisdiction over several police stations was reassigned. The current investigation into the land scandal remains ongoing, with authorities continuing to search for the accused.