₹3.75 cr jewellery seized from retired excise officer’s family lockers:Indore Lokayukta raids after earlier ₹80 lakh recovery; officials resist interference

The Indore Lokayukta has once again recovered gold and diamond jewelry worth nearly Rs 3.75 crore from retired District Excise Officer Dharmendra Bhadauria. The items were found in the lockers of his children—daughter Apoorva, son Suryansh, and daughter-in-law Mini Shukla Bhadauria. This comes after previous raids where Bhadauria’s wealth was uncovered. Locker raid at Canara Bank On Friday, the Lokayukta team opened a locker in Canara Bank at Dewas Naka. The locker belonged to Dharmendra Bhadauria’s daughter Apoorva. Jewelry worth around Rs 1.5 crore was recovered from this locker. Locker raid at HDFC Bank The team also recovered jewelry worth Rs 2 crore 35 lakh from a locker at HDFC Bank. The Lokayukta faced difficulties opening the locker. Dharmendra Bhadauria tried to influence the officials through his lawyers. Previous recovery from Bhadauria’s apartment Earlier, the Lokayukta raided Bhadauria’s apartment in Kailash Kunj, Indore. During that raid, gold worth Rs 80 lakh was seized. Bhadauria tried to retrieve gold secretly Sources said Dharmendra Bhadauria was aware that the lockers contained diamond-studded jewelry worth crores. He attempted to secretly retrieve the jewelry. He sent lawyers to bank officials, claiming his daughter Apoorva would operate the locker. Officials said the lockers had been frozen. How the Lokayukta recovered the jewelry Inspector Renu Agarwal retrieved gold jewelry weighing 1.658 kg from Canara Bank. DSP Sunil Talan recovered 2 kg of gold and diamond jewelry from HDFC Bank. Bhadauria’s controversial career Dharmendra Bhadauria’s career has been controversial. He was suspended twice during his service. He served in Indore, Gwalior, Khandwa, Dhar, and Alirajpur. For many years, he was posted in Alirajpur. Involvement in Gujarat’s illegal liquor line Alirajpur, Jhabua, and Dhar districts are important areas for Gujarat’s illegal liquor operations. Bhadauria reportedly controlled this network for years. Multiple complaints were filed against him for illegal activities. Working as a sub-contractor while in service Sources said Bhadauria partnered with Rinku Bhatia, a contractor in Alirajpur, while still in service. He controlled the district’s liquor business behind the scenes. This parallel operation helped him amass immense wealth.