LUCKNOW: Acting tough against senior IPS officers over allegations of corruption, Yogi Adityanath government affected a major police reshuffle suspending Noida Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Vaibhav Krishna for violation of service rules and a probe panel was set up against five other senior IPS officers.
In all, 14 senior IPS officers including Lucknow SSP Kalanidhi Naithani, were also transferred here on Thursday. The action against SSP Noida Vaibhav Krishna, a 2010 batch IPS officer, came after CM Yogi Adityanath took cognizance of an obscene video featuring the police officer went viral on social media last week.
The CM had asked Addl DG (Meerut Zone), Prashant Kumar and IG (Meerut range)< Alok Singh to probe into the issue and establish the veracity of the video. Krishna is also accused of leaking confidential letter which he had purportedly written to reveal the alleged corrupt practises of five senior IPS officers including Ghaziabad SSP Sudhir Singh, Rampur SSP Ajay Pal Sharma, Sultanpur SP Himanshu Kumar, SSP, STF Lucknow, Rajeev Narain Mishra and SP, Banda, Ganesh Saha.
The UP government suspended the officer for failing to uphold the decorum of his designation and acting in violation of the police service rules. While a departmental inquiry was ordered against Krishna to be conducted by Addl DG (Lucknow Zone) SN Sabat, the state government also set up a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Director, Vigilance, HC Awasthi to probe into allegations of corruption against five IPS officers. Other two members of the SIT are IG STF, Amitabh Yash and MD Jal Nigam, Vikas Gothalwal.
"There will be zero-tolerance against any corruption. We have formed a three-member SIT with senior officers. They will complete their probe in 15 days. Action will be taken against any person found guilty in the case," a press release issued by the UP CMO said. However, taking the first step himself, SSP Vaibhav Krishna had lodged an FIR at Sector 20, Noida in connection with the viral obscene video featuring him last week claiming it to be a fake and morphed one.
Krishna had also convened a press conference and claimed that he was being targeted by those officers, whom he had exposed for their corrupt practices through a letter to the higher-ups. He charged them with hatching a conspiracy to sully his image by making fake video viral on social media. Meanwhile, he reportedly leaked his confidential letter, written to the authorities in Lucknow, to media. Krishna, in his letter, had purportedly accused five IPS officers of colluding with local journalists while dealing with transfers and postings across police stations of their respective districts.
Consequently, ADG Meerut zone, Prashant Kumar and IG- Meerut range, Alok Singh conducted a probe into the matter. I-G Singh had sent the obscene video featuring Krishna to Gujarat Forensic Lab where it was found authentic “with no sign of edit, alteration medication and morphing,” said director, Information, Shishir.
In the meantime, UP DGP OP Singh had sought an explanation from Krishna over the alleged leakage of the confidential letter to media.
The axe fell on Lucknow SSP Kalanidhi Naithani in the wake of anti-CAA protests turning violent in state capital resulting in loss of life. New SSP of Lucknow and Gautam Budh Nagar (Noida) will be announced later.