Dy SP in UP police suspended for amassing assets worth ₹100 crore

A probe by a Special Investigation Team into an extortion racket in Kanpur has resulted in the suspension of a deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Rishikant Shukla, 57, over charges of allegedly amassing assets worth in excess of ₹100 crore.

- Rohit Kumar Singh and Haidar Naqvi

A government order from the Uttar Pradesh home department dated November 3 has also directed a vigilance probe against Shukla, who is currently posted in Bhogaon, Mainpuri, but who was posted in Kanpur for over a decade till 2009.

The SIT's investigation pointed to the role of a lawyer in Kanpur, Akhilesh Dubey, who operated a network that had close connections with police officials and bureaucrats in the Kanpur Development Authority, and which extorted money by allegedly filing false police complaints and forcibly occupying land. It further pointed to the role of Shukla, who had joined the police force as a sub-inspector in 1998, become friendly with Dubey, and even become his partner in some real estate ventures.