Two UP IPS officers booked for graft, face suspension

LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday suspended two IPS officers after they were found involved in corrupt practices post an inquiry. The vigilance department has lodged two separate FIRs against them. 

The officials -- Ajay Pal Sharma and Himanshu Kumar -- have been charged with allegedly lobbying to get a favourable postings for themselves. The state government had given its nod to the vigilance authorities to move ahead with action against the two IPS officers.

Two 'middlemen' have also been booked in this connection. 

While Ajay Pal Sharma, a 2011 batch officer, is posted at Police Training School in Unnao, Himanshu Kumar, the 2010-batch officer, is posted at 28th battalion PAC in Etawah.

It may be recalled that the action against the two officers has come two weeks after the recommendation by the vigilance authorities after they had found them 'lobbying for suitable posting.'

The two officers, who also face suspension, were among the five IPS officers against whom the then Noida SSP Vaibhav Krishna had written a letter mentioning their alleged corrupt practices to the higher police authorities including the state DGP in August, last year.

The five officers about whom Krishna had written against are Ajay Pal Sharma, Himanshu Kumar, Sudhir Kumar Singh, Ganesh Saha, and Rajiv Narain Mishra. Krishna had marked a copy of the letter to the state home department as well.

As the five officers were under vigilance scanner and a probe was going on against them, the then Noida SSP Vaibhav Krishna landed in a soup when some videos showing him in indulging in sexual misconduct went viral on social media on January 1, this year.

On January 1, this year, explicit videos and chats of Krishna went viral. Even the letter in which he had allegedly exposed the five IPS officers was also leaked to the media leading to the suspension of Krishna as well.

However, Krishna called the videos fake and alleged that it was an "organised attempt" to malign him. He had even pointed fingers at the five officers saying they were responsible for that leak.

He also linked the leaks to the "confidential" report he had sent to the government thrice last year. 

Thereafter, an SIT was constituted on January 9, 2020, on the directions of the chief minister with the mandate to conduct a probe against all the five officers. The SIT was headed by the then interim state police chief HC Awasthy, who is now heading the state police, along with IG STF Amitabh Yash, and Jal Nigam MD Vikas Gothalwal.

The SIT had sent a report to the government recommending a probe against Kumar and Sharma by the vigilance which recommended criminal proceedings against them. Krishna continues to remain suspended.