NOIDA: The Noida police chief, clad in plain clothes, boarded an auto a little after Friday midnight, along with an aide, to check if policemen were taking money, hours after an entire wing of his crime branch was disbanded over a bribery scandal.Ajay Pal Sharma, the Gautam Budh Nagar SSP , booked the auto at 12.30am and travelled from Pari Chowk to Surajpur, Knowledge Park and other sectors. He said he travelled in the auto for two hours and chatted with the driver, who wasn’t aware about his identity. Through the conversation, he learnt about drug peddlers operating in Knowledge Park. On Saturday evening, police arrested a suspected drug peddler from there.Sharma said he also asked his auto driver if cops sought money from them. The driver, according to him, revealed some “important information”. Sharma got off the auto at 2.30am in Greater Noida, got into his private SUV and headed for Noida to see how secure these areas are at night. He travelled via Bhangel, Sector 49, Phase III, Sector 39 and Noida Expressway before reaching Noida at 3am. Sharma flashed a message to local cops to check the SUV in which he was travelling. He said the SUV crossed a police response vehicle but the cops did not take note. The SSP returned the same way but the cops remained oblivious. Sub-inspector Rajvir , who was deployed there, was subsequently suspended for dereliction of duty.Sharma said cops on the monthly money collection list that was tweeted, allegedly by a disgruntled policeman, leading to the entire special weapons and tactics (SWAT) wing of the crime branch being dissolved, would be booked after the investigation report is filed. The leaked list mentioned an ‘inspector sir’ among those who were to receive a share.

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