IPS officer who wore religion on his sleeves
LUCKNOW: IPS officer Surya Kumar Shukla, who has triggered a row after allegedly taking a pledge at an event for the “early construction of Ram temple” in Ayodhya, had been participating in religious meetings during his posting in Allahabad and Varanasi, according to senior officials.
A native of Rae Bareli, Shukla was promoted to the director general (DG) rank in 2014. During the Samajwadi Party regime, he was made DG (prosecution) and given the additional charge of the Police Recruitment and Promotion Board (PRPB).
After the formation of the BJP government in March last year, he was removed from the post of DG (prosecution) and appointed as DG (homeguard).
Being a senior IPS officer, Shukla remained among the frontrunners for the post of DGP during the SP as well as BJP governments. Both the governments, however, ignored him and preferred an officer junior to him for the top post.
His posting in Gorakhpur as DIG in 1997-98 failed to get the endorsement of chief minister Yogi Adityanath and he was shunted to an insignificant department (homeguard).
A post-graduate and a PhD in history, Shukla organised regular press conferences as DG (prosecution) and DG (homeguard) to highlight the achievements of his department.
He even felicitated the witnesses of various crime cases in which the accused were punished by the court.
He was decorated with distinguished service medal in 1999 and President Police Medal in 2013. A senior police officer who did not wish to be named said though Shukla was one of the senior most serving IPS officers in the country, he was not appointed DGP due to lack of field experience and alleged controversies surrounding him.