Madhya Pradesh lokayukta initiates inquiry against IPS officer Madhu Kumar over viral video

BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh lokayukta justice NK Gupta on Monday initiated a probe against V Madhu Kumar after taking a suo motu cognisance of media reports over a viral video, purportedly showing the 1991-batch IPS officer taking ‘envelopes’ from police personnel.


Madhu Kumar was shifted from the post of state transport commissioner to the police headquarters in Bhopal late Saturday night after the video clip went viral on social media platforms.

After Kumar was transferred, cabinet minister Govind Singh Rajput had told the local media that a probe will be conducted into the video episode.

The video that has surfaced, is of the time when V Madhu Kumar was the inspector general of police, Ujjain range. In the video, he is seen taking the envelope but what is inside it is not visible, the minister had said.

The five-minute video was seemingly shot using a camera hidden inside a wall clock of a circuit house in the Agar Malwa area in 2016, say sources.

This clip was posted on WhatsApp numbers of several media persons and police officials from masked numbers having international country codes of US and Dubai to avoid being identified, said sources.

Many officials see it as a larger conspiracy to clear space for a new officer on the lucrative post. Four senior IPS officers are in fray.

As per lokayukta’s instruction, the investigations would be conducted by an officer of the rank of SP.

Lokayukta justice N K Gupta had raised strong objections against posting of ADG-level officers from special police establishment (SPE) during the tenure of Kamal Nath as CM.

In January 2019, justice Gupta had shot a letter to the home department seeking an explanation on transfer of two ADG-level officers from the special police establishment, said sources.

Sources say Justice Gupta's consent was overlooked while shifting the then ADG Ravi Gupta and posting two other ADG-level officers - Sushovan Banerjee and Madhu Kumar -- to the SPE. ADG Ravi Gupta was shifted from SPE to narcotics replacing Madhu Kumar.



Insiders say authorities who shortlisted IPS officers for reshuffling had missed out on Lokayukta's consent which was a mandate as per the Lokayukta and Up-Lokayukta Act. It reads "The services of officers and employees, other than those appointed by the Lokayukt under sub-section (1) shall not be taken back before expiry of the period of deputation by the concerned department without prior concurrence of Lokayukta".

The Kamal Nath government had almost decided to clip the wings of the Lokayukta organisation withdrawing its power of investigations into corruption cases.