Police chief admits criminal nexus

Lucknow: Lucknow Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Akhil Kumar has admitted to a thriving nexus between criminals and police personnel.

"It goes without saying that a number of criminals enjoy the patronage of policemen; some are also understood to be on their payrolls", Kumar said.

Kumar refused to deny that the majority of victims are women and the poor.

The SSP has focussed his energies on the issue after a campaign against criminals failed.

All local circle officers and inspectors were asked to carry out raids and nab listed criminals in their respective areas. However, the drive ended in a damp squib.

Apparently, tip-offs about the raids were provided to the big criminals by the same police officers expected to nab them.

"As many as 134 raids were carried out almost simultaneously, but we ended up arresting only four small-time criminals. The bigwigs managed to give our raiding teams a slip," admitted a frustrated Kumar.