Laddu And A BJP Welcome : Why Photo Of Senior UP Cop Is Going Viral

The battle for Uttar Pradesh will be multi-cornered, where the BJP is pushing for a second term in power.The BJP's main challenger will be the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party.

A photograph of a senior IPS officer in Uttar Pradesh who is the police commissioner of Kanpur, one of the state's largest cities, meeting with a BJP Rajya Sabha MP and retired director general of police has gone viral on social media, as campaigning for the crucial state election become digital because of Covid induced restrictions.

Minutes after the Election Commission finished announcing the poll schedule on Saturday, Asim Kumar Arun, a 1994 batch UP cadre IPS officer who was appointed the police commissioner of Kanpur in March 2021, announced on Facebook that he had sought voluntary retirement from the police, saying he "wanted to serve the nation and society in a different manner". In the same post, Mr Arun also thanked Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath "for finding him worthy of membership of the Bharatiya Janta Party".

The sudden announcement by the decorated police officer, who has won multiple medals during his service and is considered an upright officer, raised many eyebrows. Last night, Brij Lal, who served as UP police chief between 2011-12 and is now a BJP Rajya Sabha MP, tweeted a photograph of his meeting with Mr Arun, offering a laddoo to the latter.

Police websites still list Mr Arun as Kanpur police commissioner. He still had atleast 8 years of service left but sources say he has asked the government to expedite his voluntary retirement application.