Bihar Forms Panel to Consider Prosecution of IPS Officer Amit Lodha in Disproportionate Assets Case

Patna: The Bihar government has constituted a committee to consider granting prosecution sanction against senior Indian Police Service officer Amit Lodha in a disproportionate assets case, barely a month after promoting him to the post of Additional Director General (ADG).

The move signals a renewed push in the ongoing probe into Lodha’s alleged amassing of assets worth over Rs 7 crore, far exceeding his known sources of income, which reportedly stand at less than Rs 2 crore. The case is being investigated by the state’s Special Vigilance Unit (SVU).

According to a senior official, prosecution approval is a prerequisite for filing a chargesheet against the officer. The newly formed committee will also assess whether the earlier Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) order — which favoured Lodha in his plea against delay in promotion — can be challenged.

Lodha, a 1998-batch IPS officer currently posted as ADG, State Crime Records Bureau, was promoted shortly after CAT ruled in his favour. At the time, the disproportionate assets case was still pending, raising questions over the government’s decision.

The case has also drawn the attention of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which has filed an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) against Lodha under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The ED’s investigation remains ongoing.

In an earlier setback for Lodha, the Patna High Court dismissed his petition seeking to quash the SVU’s FIR. The court directed the vigilance agency to conclude its probe within a stipulated timeframe, stating that there were sufficient grounds to proceed.

During court proceedings, SVU claimed that Lodha, while posted as Inspector General of Magadh Range in 2021, travelled to Mumbai and Jharkhand in connection with the production of a web series based on his life. He allegedly received Rs 12,372 from Friday Storytellers LLP in August 2021 and Rs 75,900 during a subsequent visit to the shooting location near Daltonganj. He is also alleged to have stayed with the production team at their hotel.

Further, vigilance officials allege that funds from Friday Storytellers LLP were regularly transferred to the bank account of Lodha’s wife, Komudi Lodha. The SVU claims that both Amit Lodha and his wife were direct beneficiaries of these transactions, which contributed to the accumulation of disproportionate assets.

The SVU maintains that these findings establish sufficient jurisdiction for filing the FIR and proceeding with the case against Lodha and others involved.