UP suspends transfer scam whistleblower IPS officer
Tribune News Service
Lucknow, January 9
The whistleblower in the racket involving police department’s transfers/postings, Noida SSP Vaibhav Krishna, has been suspended while those against whom he had levelled charges have been transferred.
The 2010-batch IPS officer has been suspended ostensibly after an objectionable video in which he was seen was found to be genuine by a Gujarat forensic laboratory.
Video found ‘genuine’
Noida SSP Vaibhav Krishna, a 2010-batch IPS officer, has been suspended ostensibly after an objectionable video showing him was found genuine by a forensic laboratory in Gujarat.
Krishna had filed an FIR alleging the video to be fake but the lab found that it had neither been edited nor any alteration or morphing had taken place.
Holding a press conference soon after the video had gone viral, Krishna had alleged that he was being targeted as he had found out a nexus among some senior IPS officers, politicians and journalists in fixing transfers and postings for a price.
Maintaining that he had written to the state government about the racket, Krishna also released copies of the confidential letter which he had written after collecting evidence, to prima facie establish his charges.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was reportedly upset at the confidential letter being leaked and has ordered a department probe against him to be conducted by Lucknow ADG SN Sabaat.
Interestingly, clearly taking cognisance of Krsihna’s letter, those he had named have been transferred to insignificant posts during a transfer of 14 IPS officers on Thursday. The transfer includes shifting of 10 district chiefs.
They include Sultanpur SP Himanshu Kumar who has been transferred to 28th Battalion, PAC, Etawah; Rampur SP Rampal Sharma who is now SP, PAC, Unnao; Banda SP Ganesh Prasad Saha, who is now SP, Human Rights, in Lucknow; SSP, Ghaziabad, Sudhir Kumar Singh now attached to PAC 15th Battalion in Agra; and SSP, STF, Rajiv Narain Singh who has been attached to PAC 24 Battalion in Moradabad.
The state government has also set up a three-member committee headed by Director, Vigilance, HC Awasthi and including IG, STF, Amitabh Yash and Managing Director, UP Jal Nigam, Vikas Gothwal to conduct a probe into the charges mentioned in Krishna’s letter and recommend action within 15 days.
Besides the police officers, three more officers found involved in the alleged racket mentioned in Krishna’s confidential letter have also been transferred today.
They include the Director, Information, attached to the Chief Secretary’s office Diwakar Khare and PCS officers Gulshan Kumar and Rajnish.
Describing today’s action as a mere eyewash, a suspended ADG-level officer, who had interacted with several officers of the state IPS association regarding Krishna’s letter, said setting up of the probe committee was a delaying tactic as there was enough evidence in Krishna’s letter to suspend these officers.
Meanwhile, Lucknow SSP Kalanidhi Naithani has been transferred to Ghaziabad in the same capacity which is being viewed as a promotion of sorts. He was among the 10 district chiefs transferred on Thursday.
The other districts whose police chiefs have been shifted are Sultanpur, Etawah, Rampur, Barabanki, Ghazipur, Jhansi, Hathras, Banda and Ghaziabad.
