New twist in DSP Pooja case mystery:Late-night 2 AM call, rejected 25% of ₹3 crore offer; questions arise on Seoni SP and Balaghat Deputy Superintendent of Police

In Seoni, a court has sent all 11 people accused in the three-crore rupees hawala case to jail. Among them is suspended SDOP Pooja Pandey. The investigation into this high-profile case is still ongoing, and shocking new details are coming out one by one. Suspended SDOP Pooja Pandey is seen as the main mastermind, and her role is raising serious questions about senior district police officers. Notably, Pankaj Mishra, DSP of Balaghat Hawk Force and Pooja Pandey’s batchmate, had shared information with her. His involvement is now also under investigation. It is worth noting that Seoni police had seized about 3 crore rupees from a person in Nagpur. It is alleged that the report showed a seizure of only 1 crore 45 lakh rupees. After the matter came to light, on the night of October 9, IG Pramod Verma suspended 10 policemen, including Station In-charge Arpit Bhairam. After this, on October 10, DGP Kailash Makwana also suspended SDOP Pooja Pandey. A case was also registered against everyone under sections of dacoity. The SIT is investigating the matter. Read why questions are being raised about the role of senior officials in this entire case. Batchmate DSP Pankaj Mishra had given the information
DSP Pankaj Mishra of the 2018 batch, who is currently posted in Hawk Force in Balaghat. He was informed by a constable from Jabalpur that hawala money was being moved from Seoni. It is reported that Pankaj informed DSP Pooja about this. Pooja took action on this information. Now it will become clear in the investigation what was fixed in Pankaj’s conversation with Pooja? Had Pankaj asked to take action without informing senior officers? The SIT has recorded Pankaj Mishra’s statements. However, a senior officer says that if an officer receives any input, they share it with the concerned party, but it doesn’t mean they want a share in it. IG Pramod Verma confirmed in a discussion with Bhaskar that DSP Pankaj had informed DSP Pooja. Pooja is his batchmate. Her statements have also been recorded. These questions are arising The 25% Offer and that Mysterious 2-Hour Call
After receiving a tip from her batchmate, Pooja Pandey set out with her team, accompanied by her gunman and some trusted staff. Meanwhile, TI Arpit Bhairam of the nearby Bandol police station also left in his official vehicle to join the operation. Around 1:30 AM, near Seoni in the Siladehi area, both police teams cordoned off and stopped the Creta car. As soon as the vehicle laden with hawala money was stopped, Nagpur businessman Sohan Parmar, sensing the situation, offered DSP Pooja Pandey a 5% commission. When Pooja did not agree, the offer reached 10% and then 15%. The businessman kept pleading to save his money. He was even ready to give 25%, which is about 75 lakh rupees, but DSP Pooja Pandey had other intentions. She rejected this big offer as well. According to police sources, the initial investigation of both of Pooja’s seized mobile phones revealed that between 2 AM and 4 AM, i.e., for about 2 hours, she was continuously connected to someone on a WhatsApp call. Who this call was with is the most important subject of the investigation. Was she talking to her batchmate and DSP Pankaj Mishra, who reported the hawala? Or were the threads of this entire conspiracy connected to some other senior officer? The answers to these questions will only become clear after the forensic investigation report comes out.
Excuse to seniors, ‘Child is sick, cannot come’
At the time DSP Pooja Pandey was trying to seize hawala money in Siladehi, Seoni’s ASP was present in Lakhanwara with the TIs of three police stations in connection with the FIR of a serious murder case. Around 12 AM, when the ASP called SDOP Pooja and asked for her cooperation in the murder case investigation. Pooja replied very casually, ‘My son is unwell, I cannot come.’ However, at 2:40 AM, when her ‘operation’ was complete, she called the ASP and said that if it was necessary, she could leave her child and come. This conversation has now become a major piece of evidence against her, indicating that she deliberately misled senior officers. 1.45 crore rupees found from the cupboard, she said – ‘Now I will build a case’
The next day, when hawala businessman Sohan Parmar reached Kotwali police station with a complaint of a 3 crore robbery, there was an uproar in the police department. Seeing the situation worsen, SP Sunil Mehta immediately sent ASP Deepak Mishra to the SDOP office for investigation that very night. What happened there was no less than a movie scene. In front of the ASP, DSP Pooja Pandey opened her office cupboard and took out 1.45 crore rupees. This money was immediately seized, deposited in the Malkhana (storeroom) of Kotwali police station, and the Income Tax Department was informed the next morning. Surprisingly, even when the ASP reached her office, Pooja Pandey, instead of admitting her mistake, spoke arrogantly, ‘Now I will file a case.’ To this, the ASP replied, ‘It’s too late now.’ Why question the role? SP Sunil Mehta’s role also under suspicion
The night this incident occurred, SP Sunil Mehta was in Bhopal for a conference. Upon returning to Seoni, he told the media that the conduct of the DSP and 9 policemen is suspicious and on this basis, 9 policemen have been line-attached. He emphasized that not informing senior officers is the biggest suspicious conduct. A viral audio has also raised serious questions about the SP’s role. In this audio, a conversation is claimed to have taken place between ASP Deepak Mishra, Pooja Pandey, and a hawala trader. In it, Deepak Mishra is allegedly heard saying, ‘SP Sir has said to seize 1.45 crore rupees.’ He is also assuring the trader that he will get this money back from the police station. IG Pramod Verma says that the SP told him that he got information about the incident the next day after reaching Seoni. However, an SI of Kotwali has claimed in his statement that he had informed the SP about it over the phone at 3 PM itself. These contradictory statements have made the SP’s role even more suspicious. Why questions on the role Investigation of the case handed over to SIT
SIT is now investigating this case, and the police headquarters is also trying to connect the dots from DSP Pooja Pandey’s complete call details, to find out through whom the information and conspiracy of this 3 crore robbery passed. CCTV footage of the police station and the mobile’s forensic report can prove to be important evidence in this case.