Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Rishikant Shukla has been placed under suspension after initiation of a vigilance inquiry following a SIT probe that uncovered alleged undeclared assets worth nearly Rs 100 crore, officials said on Tuesday. Shukla was suspended after SIT findings indicated at least 12 properties, valued at approximately Rs 92 crore, linked to his PAN card along with additional properties, though yet undocumented, pushing the total value to Rs 100 crore or more, said a senior police official.

The SIT report said that during his tenure in Kanpur between 1998 and 2009, Shukla was in close association with advocate-turned-gangster Akhilesh Dubey, believed to be running a racket involving fake cases, extortion and land grabbing, he said. Rishikant Shukla was serving as the Circle Officer (Bhogaon) in Manpuri district when his name cropped up in connection with the extortion racket. According to the then Commissioner of Police’s submission, Shukla used his official position and his network -- including family and associates -- to hide assets under the names of relatives and others. These properties included 11 shops in the posh Aryanagar area. Joint CP (Law & Order) Ashutosh Kumar confirmed the suspension and formal initiation of the full vigilance investigation against the suspended DSP. “The matter has been forwarded to the Director General of Police’s headquarters for further departmental action,” he added. Secretary Home, Jagdish, had written on Monday to the Principal Secretary (Vigilance) to order a full investigation and has forwarded the case to the state’s DGP headquarters for further departmental action, the letter said.

In another incident, a man who allegedly gave death threats to Gorakhpur MP Ravi Kishan on the phone has been arrested from Punjab, police said on Tuesday.

The person was identified as Ajay Kumar Yadav, a resident of Fatehgarh locality of Ludhiana. “The accused was arrested on Sunday and sent to jail today. He has no links with Bihar. He acted alone and claimed he made the call while under the influence of alcohol,” Additional SP City Abhinav Tyagi said.

According to the police, on October 30, Yadav called the BJP politician and threatened to shoot him if he came to Bihar. A complaint was lodged by the MP’s office in connection with the threat.

Police, using technical surveillance and phone tracking, traced Yadav to Punjab.

The mobile phone used to make the threat call has been recovered.