UP CM Yogi Adityanath suspends two police chiefs in two days for corruption charges

LUCKNOW: UP CM Yogi Adityanath has suspended two police chiefs in two days with corruption being a common reason for suspension of the officials, in what shows the government's strict view of the conduct of senior police officials found indulging in unethical practices.

The government on Wednesday suspended the superintendent of police (SP) of Mahoba, Mani Lal Patidar and attached him to the DGP headquarters. Patidar had asked for bribe from owners of vehicles carrying construction material and harassed them on their refusal to pay, the government cited as the reason for his suspension.

"Owing to Patidar's action, not only has the reputation of the police suffered, but clean administration in the district has taken a hit, besides putting a question mark on the reliability of the government," a home department spokesperson in the state said.

Similarly, on Tuesday, the government had suspended SSP of Prayagraj Abhishek Dixit for his lax implementation of law and order in the district as well as for corruption. The home department said Dixit was found to "encourage corruption in postings". He has also been accused of disobeying directions from the government and headquarters while in the last three months, the district has seen a rise in the number of pending investigations.

So far this year, six IPS officials in the state have been suspended by the government out of which four have been alleged to have indulged in corrupt practises or forgery. Two ,including SSP of Gautambuddhnagar Vaibhav Krishna and SSP Of Kanpur Aparna Gupta were suspended for misconduct.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has on multiple occasions repeated that his government has a "zero tolerance towards crime and corruption in the state" and police officials across ranks have suffered his wrath even during the last few months when many parts of the state have witnessed crimes and disputes owing to the laxity of police. On the other hand, many MLAs have on multiple occasions openly expressed their resentment against the police for its alleged inaction.