LUCKNOW: The UP government’s ‘zero tolerance’ to corruption has netted a large number of policemen. During the first 10 months of the current year, 42 cases of corruption have been registered against the men in khaki in the state.
The killing of eight policemen, including DSP, at Bikru village in Kanpur Dehat in July was the pointer to the rampant corruption prevalent in the police department at the district level where the policemen collude with criminals. The SIT which probed the Bikru killings recommended action against 75 district-level officials of which 40 are police personnel.
Till October 31, eight IPS officers faced suspension for their involvement in corruption cases. Among them was senior IPS officer of 2006 batch, Anant Deo, who had been holding the post of DIG (PAC) in Moradabad sector. He was suspended early last month for his alleged collusion with Bikru don Vikas Dubey. The action against the officer came on the basis of the recommendation of the SIT which submitted its report in mid-October.
Mahoba SP Manilal Patidar has been declared an absconder in a case of harassment and murder of a trader. He is accused of extorting traders. Similarly, DIGs Arvind Sen and Dinesh Chandra Dubey continue to remain suspended on charges of corruption. An inquiry is going on against them. IPS officers Himanshu Kumar and Dr Ajay Pal Sharma were booked in a corruption case involving transfer and posting of subordinate staff while being district police chiefs.
Both are facing a vigilance inquiry. The high-profile SSP of Noida, Viabhav Krishna, too, remains suspended with an inquiry pending in a case of violation of service rules. Action against Krishna, a 2010-batch IPS officer, was taken after CM Yogi took cognizance of an obscene video featuring the police officer that went viral in January this year.
The CM had asked the then ADG, Meerut Zone, and IG-Meerut range to probe the case and establish the veracity of the video. Krishna was also accused of leaking a confidential letter which he had purportedly written to reveal the alleged corrupt practices of five senior IPS officers, including Sudhir Singh, Dr Ajay Pal Sharma, Himanshu Kumar, Rajeev Narain Mishra and Ganesh Saha.