Manage BJP leaders, cop tells criminal

Lucknow: A senior police officer in Jhansi district has been suspended after audio clips of his conversation with a criminal went viral on the social media.

Suneet Kumar Singh, station house officer (SHO) of Mauranipur police station, is allegedly heard telling Lekhraj Yadav — an accused in dozens of murder, kidnapping and extortion cases — that his name tops the state police encounter list.

The police officer then advised the criminal that if he wanted to save himself, he should “manage” local BJP leaders. Lekhraj Yadav is presently out on bail.

The police officer, in the audio clip, is heard telling Yadav that he would not be able to help him and advised him to “manage” Babina legislator Rajiv Singh Paricha and Sanjay Dubey, BJP’s district president.

Lekhraj claims he recorded his conversation with the police official on Friday when he reportedly managed to escape an encounter and released it to the media a day later.

The audio went viral within no time and the policeman was suspended soon after. The clip has been sent for forensic examination.

UP director-general of police O.P. Singh told reporters that it is wrong to claim that the police and the BJP leaders are fixing encounters.