Actor Amitabh Bachchan’s bodyguard, Jitendra Shinde, was transferred by the Mumbai Police department on Thursday amid reports of him allegedly earning ₹1.5 crores annually, according to a report in The Times of India.
Shinde, a police head constable, was posted as the veteran actor’s bodyguard in 2015. Bachchan has been provided with X-category security, which provides him a security detail of two armed police personnel.
According to the report, Shinde was transferred immediately to DB Marg police station in South Mumbai after reports surfaced about his alleged income.
However, a senior IPS official told TOI, that Shinde was shifted “in a routine manner as per the new guidelines prescribed by (the city police commissioner) Nagrale, who had made it clear no police constable will continue in the same post beyond five years.”
But the state government is reportedly also verifying whether he had informed authorities about his annual income and his assets, and whether he was drawing a second salary from other sources.
As per Maharashtra’s service rules, a government servant is prohibited from accepting a salary from two establishments.
“We are in the process of conducting a departmental probe against Shinde over his annual income and assets,” the IPS officer told TOI.
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“As of now, we do not have specific or concrete information. On the basis of reports in a section of the media, we will first issue Shinde a show-cause notice and secure basic information from him. We are keen to know if, despite the state government paying him a regular salary, he was accepting an additional monthly salary from some other agency. The future course of action will depend on his reply to the show-cause notice,” he added.
As per an India Today report, Shinde told police officials that his wife runs a security agency in her name, which provides personal bodyguards to other celebrities and renowned personalities. Shinde also added that Bachchan did not pay him Rs 1.5 crore.