Circle Officer R K Naik (left) kissing the accused Piyush Shyam Dasani on forehead
A senior police official probing the murder of a woman, daughter-in-law of a leading businessman of Uttar Pradesh, was taken off the investigation on Friday after he kissed the main accused, the woman's husband, on the forehead.
The accused, Piyush Shyam Dasani, was also taken into remand by the police for questioning.
In the presence of media in Swaroop Nagar police station, Circle Officer (CO) R K Naik asked Dasani whether he would mend his ways. To this, Dasani replied in the affirmative.
Following this, Naik hugged and kissed him on his forehead while calling him a "good boy".
Later, Dasani was sent to jail.
When the news reached the Inspector General of Police, Ashutosh Pandey, he removed the CO and attached him to SP's office.
The CO was also removed from the probe.
The body of the victim Jyoti, bearing multiple stab wounds, was found inside Dasani's car on July 28 in Panki area of the district.
Dasani was arrested after he confessed to have got Jyoti killed with the help of his driver as he was having relations with another woman, Mr Pandey said.
The driver, his two accomplices and the woman with whom Dasani was having an affair have also been arrested.
Dasani, meanwhile, had told the police that he and Jyoti were returning home from a restaurant on July 27 when some motorcycle-borne men tried to overtake their car.
A scuffle broke out between him and the men after one of the bikes hit the car, according to the complaint.
Dasani had claimed that he was beaten up by one of the men after which they abducted Jyoti and also took the car along with them.
According to police officials, they suspected Dasani's role behind the murder from the beginning as there were several discrepancies in his account.
Dasani, who had claimed he was beaten up, did not have any injury marks on his body, police said.