The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday suspended an IPS officer, Mahoba SP Mani Lal Patidar, on charges of extortion and corruption.

The government action comes a day after a businessman, Indrakant Tripathi, was found shot in the neck in his car. A few days ago, Mr. Tripathi, dealing in explosives’ trade in the mining-rich Bundelkhand district, had alleged that Mr. Patidar was threatening to kill him.

Mr. Patidar was suspended on charges of corruption and tarnishing the image of the State government leading to question marks on its credibility, a government spokesperson said. He is accused of extorting money from drivers transporting gitti (loose rock) and harassing the vehicle owners if they did not pay up.

In a letter to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on September 5, Mr. Tripathi from Kabrai area had urged him to intervene and provide security. Mr. Tripathi alleged that the officer had demanded ₹6 lakh per month from him as ‘extortion’ and threatened to lodge false cases against him if he did not pay.

Video statement

Mr. Tripathi also released a video statement in which he said the SP and another explosives’ trader would be “responsible” if he was “murdered”. “The officer threatened that if I approached a politician or asked someone to telephone him, he would not hesitate to get me murdered. ‘I will get you murdered any time’,” he said.

He also alleged that the officer said it would be made to appear like a case of suicide.

Mr. Patidar, however, rejected the allegations and said the trader had targeted him as he was angry over police action on his illegal gambling business. On August 30, a notice was served to Mr. Tripathi in a gambling case, said the suspended SP.

He added that Mr. Tripathi was into the big business of gambling and “illegal explosives trade”.

“He made the video viral so that he could protect himself,” said the officer, adding that he would take action against the trader for defamation.

Mahoba police tweeted that the allegations of involvement in the shooting case were baseless.

The police said Mr. Tripathi has been transferred to a hospital in Kanpur for treatment. Senior officers are probing the matter, said the police.

Mr. Patidar is the second IPS officer in the State to be suspended on ‘corruption’ charges.