A major fraud has come to light in Chhindwara, where a forged letter falsely issued in the name of the Public Works Department (PWD) Minister was used to cancel the transfer of a panchayat assistant secretary. The entire forgery was allegedly executed for just Rs40,000, exposing serious misuse of official processes.
The scam surfaced after Gondwana Gantantra Party leader Satish Nagwanshi questioned minister-in-charge Rakesh Singh over an alleged directive to halt the transfer of a junior employee. The minister expressed shock and denied issuing any such order. When presented with the letter cancelling the transfer of Assistant Secretary Dinesh Sahu, Singh immediately ordered verification. Officials later confirmed the document was fake, prompting the minister to direct police and district authorities to launch an investigation.
Police investigations revealed that Ismail Khan, a resident of Seoni, had conspired with Dinesh Sahu to fabricate the ministerial order. Ismail allegedly promised to stop Sahu’s transfer in exchange for Rs40,000. The two reportedly met on June 20 during a government programme in Tamia, where Ismail claimed to have strong political and bureaucratic connections.
Soon after, Ismail allegedly typed a forged letter on a fake PWD minister’s letterhead and dispatched it to the Collector’s Office and District Panchayat. Acting on the letter, officials temporarily halted the transfer. The fraud was uncovered only after the minister personally visited Chhindwara and reviewed the matter.
Police arrested Ismail Khan (44) and Assistant Secretary Dinesh Sahu after collecting substantial evidence. Both were remanded for interrogation and later sent to jail. A third accused, Sahil Mehra of Bhopal, is currently absconding. He is reportedly the son of former tehsildar Meena Mehra.
During the arrests, police recovered Rs1 lakh in cash from Ismail, which he claimed was a “Diwali gift” intended for a senior official. Sources said attempts were made by influential individuals to pressure investigators.
Further probing revealed that Ismail had allegedly been involved in tribal land conversion deals in Chhindwara for the past two years, acting as a broker between land mafias, officials, and politicians. He is suspected of earning lakhs per transaction and claiming close ties with former collectors.
Dev Raven Bhalavi, district president of the Gondwana Gantantra Party, alleged that Ismail had delivered Rs3 crore to a former officer and demanded a digital forensic examination of his phone and laptop to expose the full nexus. Authorities have escalated the probe to higher levels to uncover a wider network involved in forged government documents and land-related corruption.
