Tainted cop climbs up tank to draw CM’s attention to corruption

LUCKNOW : A UP police constable Ajay Shukla, who was once arrested in a motorcycle loot case, climbed up on the overhead water tank in Jia Mau locality here on Sunday morning to seek chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s attention over his social media campaign against eradication of corruption from government departments.

A group of people gathered around the water tank, seeking support for the constable’s campaign. The constable’s act, however, did not impress senior officials who sent him to jail after arresting him for causing a nuisance at a public place and enacting a drama that engaged the police force and administrative officials for over five hours.

A local resident Mannu Pandey said the drama started at around 10 am when the man started shouting after climbing the water tank.

He said some people holding the national flag were raising slogans in support of the constable and against corruption in government departments. “A team of local police and administrative officials reached the spot soon after being informed about the man climbing the tank and threatening to jump if his demands were not heard,” he added.

Pandey said the man threatened to jump from the tank when the police personnel tried to bring him down forcibly using a hydraulic ladder of the fire services department.

Inspector of Gautampalli police station Nand Lal said the constable was brought down after assuring him that his memorandum would be submitted to the chief minister after he returned to Lucknow. He said the constable had handed over the memorandum to the administrative officials.

District police spokesman Anil Kumar Singh said the constable has been arrested and sent to jail for his mischievous act. He said it was found that the constable was once arrested in the motorcycle loot case in Ambedkarnagar district a few years ago. He said SSP Lucknow Kalanidhi Naithani had also placed him under suspension and ordered a departmental inquiry against him.