Senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Rajeev Krishna, 55, of the 1991 batch was appointed the new state police chief on Saturday.
He is the fifth acting director general of police (DGP) of Uttar Pradesh appointed in the last three years.
With over four years of service left till June 2029, Krishna is one of the youngest IPS officers to head the state police force.
He takes over from outgoing DGP Prashant Kumar who superannuated on Saturday. All speculation about Kumar’s service extension was set to rest after the state information department confirmed Krishna was finalised for the top post. He took charge late Saturday evening.
According to an official communique, Krishna will continue to hold charge of director general of Vigilance and director of UP Police Recruitment and Promotion Board.
He was one of the youngest to become an IPS officer at the age of 22.
Before him, Sri Ram Arun (1963 batch) was the youngest IPS officer to become UP DGP in 1997 at the age of 57.
Mukul Goel was the last full-fledged DGP in UP. He was removed from the post on May 11, 2022 following allegations of inaction and lack of interest in work.
{{/usCountry}}Mukul Goel was the last full-fledged DGP in UP. He was removed from the post on May 11, 2022 following allegations of inaction and lack of interest in work.
{{/usCountry}}Along with Prashant Kumar, five more IPS officers superannuated on Saturday.
They are: DG Prison PV Ramasastry (1989-batch IPS officer), Prashant Kumar’s 1990 batchmate Sanjay M Tarade, who was DG Telecom, deputy inspector general (DIG) of Women and Child Security Organisation Kiran Yadav, DIG Vigilance Arvind Chaturvedi and DIG Personnel Tej Swaroop Singh.
WHAT TILTED THE SCALES?
Two key factors were behind the selection of senior IPS officer Rajeev Krishna as the acting DGP, a senior home department official said.
Krishna proved his mettle after ensuring the smooth conduct of the biggest police recruitment written examination in August last year and helping the government bounce back from two back-to-back question paper leaks in February 2024.
“First, the way Krishna handled the biggest police recruitment written examination and got it conducted successfully recently. The state government faced a major embarrassment after back-to-back question paper leaks in February 2024. The entire police recruitment written examination was cancelled and reconducted in August last year. Second, Krishna suits the new rule laid down by the state government for the appointment of a permanent DGP in November 2024,” he emphasised.
The new rule stated that only those senior IPS officers with a minimum of six months’ service remaining will be considered for the coveted post.
The new rule also stated that the DGP in U.P. will have a minimum two-year tenure. If an officer has only six months service left, it can be extended by another 1.5 years.
The official elaborated that Krishna earned the state government’s trust as he pulled off the Herculean task of conducting the police recruitment exam involving 48,17,441 applicants, including 15 lakh women.
The successful completion of the recruitment process for 60,244 posts of police constable turned out to be a major relief for the government.
This was about six months after question papers of Review Officer (RO) and Assistant RO were also leaked before the police recruitment question paper leak in February last year, he recalled.
The official further said Krishna used a comprehensive strategy, including Artificial Intelligence, strict confidentiality protocols, and rigorous security arrangements to dismantle the plans of copying mafias and solver gangs. He said AI enabled strong safeguards against any malpractice during the examination process..