Lucknow: Fake IPS Officer Refuses To Pay Rs 40 Tea Bill, Tries To Intimidate Cops, Gets Exposed (WATCH)

A man allegedly posing as an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer was exposed after attempting to throw his weight around during a late-night altercation with a tea vendor in Lucknow's Mahanagar area. The incident happened at the Gole Market crossing, where a police patrol team rushed to a tea stall after receiving information about a dispute over payment. 

Sub-Inspector Aryan Sharma and his team arrived at the spot to find a man locked in a heated confrontation with tea seller Veeru Gupta over the payment of a bread packet. As tensions escalated, the man allegedly began claiming that he was an IPS officer posted in Noida.

A video of the confrontation soon surfaced on social media, showing the self-proclaimed officer engaged in a fiery exchange with police personnel.

उत्तर प्रदेश की राजधानी लखनऊ में 40 रुपए के चक्कर में फर्जी IPS मिथिलेश शुक्ला पकड़े गए। चाय वाले की दुकान पैसों को लेकर झगड़ा कर रहे थे। कह रहे थे कि मैं नोएडा में IPS हूं। झगड़े की सूचना पर पुलिस पहुंची और सारी सच्चाई खुल गई। pic.twitter.com/Lr2SNP0wAg

— Sachin Gupta (@Sachingupta) June 16, 2026

According to the FIR, when officers attempted to verify his identity, the man allegedly doubled down on his claims and started questioning the policemen instead.

"Why aren't you wearing caps? Why didn't you salute me?" he allegedly told the policemen while attempting to assert his claimed seniority.

However, when the officers asked him to produce his official identity card and disclose his IPS batch details. The man allegedly claimed he did not have the ID with him and would present it the following day.

His inability to provide basic credentials immediately raised red flags. 

Police said that under sustained questioning, he eventually identified himself as Mithilesh Shukla, a resident of Bharat Nagar on Sitapur Road in Lucknow.

Further inquiry allegedly revealed that Shukla was not a senior police officer at all. Instead, he reportedly worked at an electronics multinational company's facility in Sector-18, Noida.

SHO Mahanagar Akhilesh Mishra said Mithilesh falsely projected himself as a senior police officer and attempted to intimidate the patrol team, thereby obstructing them in the discharge of their official 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).”

Police have registered a case and arrested the accused.