Lucknow Police Commissionerate cop releases 2nd video alleging 'corrupt feudal system'

A police constable in the Lucknow Police Commissionerate has released a second video within 24 hours, reiterating allegations of widespread corruption and demanding a probe by an independent agency instead of a departmental inquiry. Constable Sunil Kumar Shukla, a 2015-batch officer currently posted at the Reserve Police Lines, directly addressed Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in his latest video.

A police constable in the Lucknow Police Commissionerate has released a second video within 24 hours, reiterating allegations of widespread corruption and demanding a probe by an independent agency instead of a departmental inquiry. Constable Sunil Kumar Shukla, a 2015-batch officer currently posted at the Reserve Police Lines, directly addressed Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in his latest video. He questioned the fairness of the ongoing probe, saying the very officers he accused of corruption -- whom he referred to as ''Black Britishers'' (Kale Angrez) -- are the ones overseeing the investigation. ''Honourable Chief Minister, one can easily understand where justice will come from in such a situation. I appeal for an investigation by an impartial agency,'' Shukla said in the video uploaded on social media. The controversy erupted on Thursday when Shukla's first video went viral. In it, he alleged that a ''corrupt feudal system'' exists within the commissionerate where constables and head constables are forced to pay approximately Rs 2,000 per month to the duty-in-charge to secure assignments. He claimed these collections are funnelled up the chain of command to senior IPS officers. Shukla, a science graduate from Allahabad University who has been posted in Lucknow since August 2022, is currently on 20 days' earned leave. Responding to the initial allegations, the Lucknow Police Commissionerate issued a statement refuting the claims, asserting that deployments in the Reserve Police Lines follow a strict Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) under the supervision of gazetted officers. The department has already formed a committee led by the additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP), Police Lines, to conduct a ''fair and detailed inquiry''. Officials maintained that legal and departmental action would follow based on the findings of the probe. However, Shukla continues to maintain that a departmental inquiry will not yield a fair result, given the seniority of the officers involved in his allegations.