Kanpur, Nov. 6 -- Suspended deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Rishikant Shukla was a young sub-inspector once who emerged as an encounter specialist and used his clout to eye real estate, amassing assets worth over Rs.100 crore.

He first came into prominence in the late 1990s and was known for his role in several high-profile encounters, including those involving gangsters Rafiq and Billu. His team also gunned down Amit Rai and Chintu Singh of the Munna Bajrangi gang in 2007 at Sanjay Van, Kidwai Nagar. Other notorious names such as Ajay Kanja, Tannu Pasi, Rajesh Kaliya and Irfan Chikna also fell to his team's bullets.

By the mid-2000s, Shukla's proximity to influential bureaucrats and politicians was an open secret. Colleagues reca...