‘Why Didn’t You Salute Me?’: How an Unpaid Bread Bill Exposed a Fake Noida IPS Officer in Lucknow

A midnight craving for a packet of bread led to the dramatic exposure and arrest of a man who allegedly impersonated a high-ranking Indian Police Service (IPS) officer in Lucknow's bustling Mahanagar area. The incident unfolded at the Gole Market crossing when a local police patrol team arrived at a tea stall following reports of a heated argument over an unpaid bill. Sub-Inspector Aryan Sharma and his team found the suspect engaged in a tense confrontation with the tea vendor, Veeru Gupta.

"Why Didn't You Salute Me?"

According to the First Information Report (FIR), when the patrolling officers intervened and requested identification, the man boldly claimed to be an IPS officer currently posted in Noida. Instead of cooperating, he attempted to pull rank on the ground reality of the law. The confrontation, which was captured on video and has since gone viral on social media, shows the man aggressively questioning the patrol team's discipline.

"Why aren't you wearing caps? Why didn't you salute me?" he allegedly demanded, attempting to assert his fabricated seniority.

The situation took an embarrassing turn for the claimant when the skeptical officers refused to take his word at face value. In the viral footage, a sharp-witted policeman can be heard firing back: "Come wearing the uniform and I will salute you."

Sustained Questioning Blurs the False Identity

When pressed to state his officer batch and produce his official department identity card, the man's confidence began to crumble. He defensively claimed that he did not have the ID on his person but would present it the following morning.

Growing highly suspicious of his evasive answers, the Lucknow police personnel subjected him to sustained questioning. Under pressure, his elite facade completely collapsed. The suspect was identified as Mithilesh Shukla (also referred to in initial police reports as Mithilesh Gupta), a resident of Bharat Nagar on Sitapur Road, Lucknow. Far from leading a district police force, Shukla admitted that he actually works as an executive at a private corporate facility, an electronics MNC, in Sector-18, Noida.

Corporate Executive Faces Serious Criminal Charges

The Mahanagar police quickly detained the corporate employee once his deception was verified, ending his brief stint of pretending to project elite authority. Evaluating the gravity of the disruption, Akhilesh Mishra, the Station House Officer (SHO) of Mahanagar, stated that the accused falsely projected himself as a senior police officer and actively tried to intimidate the patrol team, thereby obstructing them from performing their lawful duties.

“We have arrested Mithlesh under the charges of BNS 132 (assault a public servant), 221 (obstructing public servant from duty) and 204 (falsely impersonating a public servant),” confirmed SHO Mishra. The internet has widely shared the exchange, with social media users noting the stark contrast between the man’s arrogant demands for a formal police salute and his subsequent walk to a local police cell. Legal proceedings against the accused are currently underway.
 

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