Caught on cam! Freed from jail, SP MLA gives cash to cops

A couple of policemen have been caught on camera allegedly accepting largesse from a ruling Samajwadi Party member of Legislative Assembly in Uttar Pradesh, upon his release from jail where he was lodged in connection with a bomb attack on a cabinet minister in the previous Bahujan Samaj Party government.

The district police chief has ordered an investigation into the whole episode for "appropriate action".

MLA Vijay Mishra, a history-sheeter who represents the Gyanpur constituency in neighbouring Sant Ravidas Nagar district, was released from the high-security Naini Central Prison on Tuesday.

He was arrested in February last year and after spending more than a year behind bars, was granted bail by the Allahabad high court on August 17.

When Mishra came out of jail, he was greeted by a throng of supporters who raised slogans hailing his release. The MLA responded by distributing sweets and money to the supporters after taking his seat in a vehicle parked outside the jail premises.

On Wednesday, images of two policemen, accepting the MLA's largesse and greeting him while donning their uniforms, were flashed by some news channels.

When contacted, Senior Superintendent of Police, Allahabad, Mohit Agrawal told PTI, "I received the news only today and have sought the video footages for investigation. The matter will be investigated thoroughly and appropriate action will be taken if the policemen are found guilty of any wrong-doing."

Mishra was in jail in connection with a bomb attack on Nand Gopal Gupta "Nandi" in July 2011.

Nandi, a cabinet minister in the then Mayawati government in the state, was grievously wounded in the incident even as two others, including a journalist Vijay Pratap Singh lost their lives.

The high court, while granting him bail, had ordered that he "shall not directly or indirectly make any inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade him from disclosing such facts to the court or to any police officer or tamper with the evidence".