Lalitpur jail supdt suspended for VIP treatment to ex-MP Rizwan Zaheer
Lucknow: The prisons department on Friday suspended the superintendent of Lalitpur district jail, Mukesh Kumar, after an internal probe confirmed that former Samajwadi Party MP Rizwan Zaheer was given VIP treatment in custody.
The action comes in the wake of disciplinary proceedings already initiated against six other jail staff, taking the total number of officials facing action in the case to seven.
Deputy jailer Jai Narayan Bharti was suspended earlier this week, while recommendations for disciplinary action against jailer Jeevan Singh and others have been forwarded to the state govt. Three warders were also suspended.
The crackdown followed a surprise inspection on May 31 by District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) secretary Mayank Jaiswal in which luxury items were found in Zaheer's barracks.
These included a mattress, battery-powered fan, desi ghee pickles, shampoo, branded creams, and Rs 7,500 cash.
In his defence, superintendent Mukesh Kumar claimed that Zaheer, a cardiac patient, was prescribed a soft mattress by doctors. However, the explanation failed to justify the presence of other banned items.
Additional IG (prisons) Dharmendra Singh ordered a probe led by DIG (prisons), Kanpur Range. The report held Kumar prima facie responsible for allowing undue privileges to the high-profile inmate.
Zaheer, a former MP from Balrampur and a history-sheeter, has been in judicial custody since July 2022 for allegedly conspiring to murder ex-panchayat chairman Firoz Ahmad alias Pappu. He faces 14 serious charges, including murder, attempt to murder, and violations under the Arms Act and the Gangsters Act.
Lucknow: The prisons department on Friday suspended the superintendent of Lalitpur district jail, Mukesh Kumar, after an internal probe confirmed that former Samajwadi Party MP Rizwan Zaheer was given VIP treatment in custody.
The action comes in the wake of disciplinary proceedings already initiated against six other jail staff, taking the total number of officials facing action in the case to seven.
Deputy jailer Jai Narayan Bharti was suspended earlier this week, while recommendations for disciplinary action against jailer Jeevan Singh and others have been forwarded to the state govt. Three warders were also suspended.
The crackdown followed a surprise inspection on May 31 by District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) secretary Mayank Jaiswal in which luxury items were found in Zaheer's barracks.
These included a mattress, battery-powered fan, desi ghee pickles, shampoo, branded creams, and Rs 7,500 cash.
In his defence, superintendent Mukesh Kumar claimed that Zaheer, a cardiac patient, was prescribed a soft mattress by doctors. However, the explanation failed to justify the presence of other banned items.
Additional IG (prisons) Dharmendra Singh ordered a probe led by DIG (prisons), Kanpur Range. The report held Kumar prima facie responsible for allowing undue privileges to the high-profile inmate.
Zaheer, a former MP from Balrampur and a history-sheeter, has been in judicial custody since July 2022 for allegedly conspiring to murder ex-panchayat chairman Firoz Ahmad alias Pappu. He faces 14 serious charges, including murder, attempt to murder, and violations under the Arms Act and the Gangsters Act.
Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with
Eid wishes
,
messages
, and
quotes
!
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
25 minutes ago
- Time of India
Pujari assures action against sand mafia
Bhubaneswar: Revenue minister Suresh Pujari on Saturday said Odisha would not be allowed to follow the lawless path in sand operations like it is in Bihar and West Bengal, while responding to the recent assault of an additional tehsildar in Kaptipada block, Mayurbhanj district, by the sand mafia. He promised stringent action against the sand mafia regardless of their connections, while speaking to mediapersons here on Saturday. "The Kaptipada incident represents a serious escalation in conflict between law enforcement and the sand mafia. The attack on officers performing their enforcement duties is similar to Bihar and West Bengal, where criminals challenge state authority. The administration's commitment in curbing illegal sand trafficking faces violent resistance from well-organised criminal networks. We pledged decisive action against both the direct perpetrators and their masterminds," said Pujari. This zero-tolerance approach signals a strong message that such attacks on govt officials will not be tolerated. The incident serves as a watershed moment in the ongoing battle against illegal sand mining operations, officials said. Kaptipada additional tehsildar Bhimakanta Majhi suffered injuries after an attack by the sand mafia near Suno river bed on Monday morning. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Keep Your Home Efficient with This Plug-In elecTrick - Save upto 80% on Power Bill Learn More Undo In the incident, Majhi's car was damaged. Majhi, based on intelligence reports, went to inspect sand being lifted illegally using excavators. When he opposed it, he was attacked. Police said the miscreants, mostly goons of the sand mafia, intercepted Majhi's car and tried to stop him from venturing into the sand lifting site in the river bed. Pujari announced free sand provision for Pradhan Mantri Awas beneficiaries, with a draft standard operating procedure (SOP) already in preparation to streamline the process. "The most important thing is how to facilitate the supply of sand at low cost to the lower middle class and poor. We will introduce the provision of issuing permits to beneficiaries of PM Awas to lift at least two tractor fulls of sand for free for construction of houses. The PM Awas will be free from the sand cost burden," Pujari told reporters. BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty commented that the minister's statements are merely an attempt to whitewash the obvious collusion between administration officials and the mining mafia. "Instead of taking concrete action, the minister has limited himself to making empty rhetoric," he said. Mohanty said there has been a drastic decline in revenue from minor minerals from Rs 1,485 crore in 2023-24 to just Rs 600 crore in 2024-25.
Time of India
35 minutes ago
- Time of India
Drug cartel's hawala cash trail ends in washing machine in Goa flat, Rs 50L seized
Hyderabad: In a major breakthrough, Telangana Anti Narcotics Bureau's (TGANB) investigation to trace the inter-state hawala cash trail of international drug cartels ended in a washing machine in a Goa flat, from which it seized Rs 50 lakh a few days ago. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now TGANB director Sandeep Shandilya, said the money, collected over just two days, was moments away from being laundered to Nigeria. "Had we delayed the raid by an hour, the entire amount would have been transferred. It was neatly stashed inside the washing machine, ready for dispatch," he said. Following a month-long surveillance operation in Goa, TGANB --- assisted by Goa police --- zeroed in on hawala transactions being conducted from Sangeetha Mobile Shop in Mapusa and an apartment in Goa's Highland Park. The key accused, Uttam Singh, who runs the mobile shop, was arrested. Investigators revealed he had laundered Rs 2.1 crore of drug proceeds in just one week. "Drug money collected in cash was handed over to Uttam, often by foreign nationals. He then moved the funds to Mumbai through informal channels, and from there, it was transferred to Nigeria," Shandilya explained. The investigation into the hawala trail started after Nigerian national Emmanuel Bediako, alias Maxwell, revealed it to TGANB. Between May 26 and June 1, officials tracked 58 hawala transactions involving Rs 2.1 crore. A few days after establishing this link, a raid on Highland Park apartment led to the recovery of Rs 50 lakh in cash. Over the past month, four Nigerian nationals have been arrested during TGANB operations in Goa. Crime branch in Goa also seized narcotics worth Rs 1.6 crore, including ecstasy and cocaine, from them. Authorities believe Uttam is one of several hawala operators facilitating cross-border drug money transfers. Police suspect a wider network of hawala operators is active, working hand-in-glove with international narcotics cartels.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Cops probe role of others in multi-crore fraud by former ICICI Bank employee
Kota: After ICICI Bank's internal investigation pinpointed Sakshi Gupta, a former relationship manager at the bank's DCM branch in Kota, as the key figure behind a multi-crore fraud involving customer accounts, Kota police have launched an investigation to determine if others were involved and requested relevant documents from the bank. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Tarun Dadhich, manager of the city's ICICI DCM branch, on Feb 18, 2025, submitted a report at the Udhyog Nagar police station alleging that Gupta, the former relationship manager at the bank, siphoned off Rs 4.58 crore from 110 accounts belonging to 41 customers over a period between 2020 to 2023. Following the police inquiry, Sakshi Gupta was arrested on May 31 and was remanded to judicial custody following a one-day police remand for interrogation. Udhyog Nagar police station Circle Inspector Jitendra Singh said Saturday that while the internal inquiry identified Sakshi Gupta as solely responsible for the fraud, the police have sought additional documents from the bank to probe the possible role of other persons involved with her in orchestrating the multi-crore fraud. However, Singh said, prima facie, no involvement of other persons has surfaced yet. According to the police, Sakshi Gupta withdrew funds from more than 110 accounts belonging to 41 customers over a span of two and a half years, investing the siphoned amounts in the stock market. However, she suffered significant losses. To hide the transactions from customers, she replaced the registered mobile numbers on several accounts with those belonging to her relatives, ensuring that transaction alerts and OTPs were diverted from the actual account holders. In one instance, she used an elderly woman's account—without her knowledge—as a 'pool account', moving over Rs 3 crore through it by Feb 15, 2023. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The investigation also revealed that Gupta misused debit cards, PINs, and OTPs for unauthorised transactions, and even activated overdraft facilities on 40 accounts without customer consent. Further inquiry found she prematurely closed fixed deposits belonging to 31 customers, redirecting Rs 1.34 crore into unauthorised accounts. A fraudulent personal loan of Rs 3.4 lakh was also disbursed. Multiple transactions were executed using Insta Kiosk installations and digital banking platforms, with Sakshi exploiting four customers' debit cards for ATM and internet banking usage. The proceeds were transferred to demat accounts as part of an attempted cover-up. Meanwhile, an ICICI Bank spokesperson said Friday, "The interest of our customers is of paramount importance to us. Immediately upon discovering the fraudulent activity, we filed an First Information Report with the police. We have a zero-tolerance policy against any fraudulent activity and thus suspended the employee involved. We would like to reassure that genuine claims of impacted customers have been settled. "
