LUCKNOW Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday alleged that political interference under the previous Samajwadi Party government had weakened the police and emboldened criminals in the state, which saw 815 riots in the 2012-2017 period.
Addressing the Police Commemoration Day event in Lucknow, Adityanath reiterated his government’s zero-tolerance policy towards crime and said the police had been freed from political constraints since the BJP came to power in 2017.
He alleged that police officers faced political pressure under previous regimes, with action often taken against officials rather than criminals.
Targeting critics of police encounters and the government’s zero-tolerance policy, he said some people expressed grief over the deaths of dreaded mafiosi and terrorists but lacked sympathy when innocent police personnel were killed by criminals or when their children were left orphaned.
Citing the 2012-17 period, Adityanath said 815 riots had taken place in the state. Each incident affected the livelihoods of poor people, daily wage workers and the education of children.
He also referred to the Jawahar Bagh incident in Mathura, alleging that encroachers had enjoyed political patronage and that superintendent of police Mukul Dwivedi and station house officer Santosh Yadav had lost their lives in the incident.
{{/usCountry}}He also referred to the Jawahar Bagh incident in Mathura, alleging that encroachers had enjoyed political patronage and that superintendent of police Mukul Dwivedi and station house officer Santosh Yadav had lost their lives in the incident.
{{/usCountry}}Linking law and order to economic growth, he asked whether industrialists would invest in UP if the government did not act firmly against mafia. He claimed Uttar Pradesh had moved beyond the era of riots and insecurity, adding that properties worth more than ₹15,000 crore belonging to mafia elements had been seized. Land freed from illegal occupation was being used for housing for the poor, including a project involving 602 flats in Prayagraj.
The CM announced increases in three allowances for police personnel. The monthly motorcycle allowance for sub-inspectors and inspectors deployed on field duty will rise from ₹700 to ₹1,000. The uniform allowance for Provincial Police Service (PPS) officers will increase from ₹6,400 to ₹15,000, while the monthly SIM allowance for constables and head constables on field duty will rise from ₹2,000 to ₹2,500.
Adityanath also paid tribute to police personnel who died in the line of duty, saying their sacrifices ensured that citizens could go about their daily lives and celebrate festivals safely.
He said 154 police personnel across the country had died in the line of duty during the preceding year, including six from UP: sub-inspectors Satyabhan Singh and Mohit Kumar Yadav, constables Ashok Kumar and Pradeep Kumar, fire service driver Veerpal Singh and fireman Mohit Kumar.
Since 2017, 18 UP police personnel had been killed and 1,953 injured during operations against crime, he said. Inspector Sunil Kumar was awarded the President’s Medal for Gallantry posthumously this year.
Adityanath said more than ₹425 crore had been provided to the dependents of deceased police personnel under the police salary package. He also cited ₹725 crore in financial assistance provided during the current year to dependents of personnel who died in the line of duty.
Highlighting changes in the police force since 2017, the CM said more than 2.26 lakh personnel had been recruited while recruitment for around 35,000 additional posts was in its final stages. The number of women personnel had increased from around 10,000 to 45,000, he added.
He said police training capacity had expanded from 6,000 personnel at a time before 2017 to 60,000. The police commissionerate system had also been introduced in seven major cities.
According to state government figures, the police department’s budget increased from ₹16,280.05 crore in 2017-18 to ₹43,891.36 crore in 2026-27, nearly 2.7 times the earlier allocation.
Adityanath also highlighted the expansion of specialised policing and technical capabilities, including cyber police stations in every district, cyber help desks at police stations and a modern forensic institute in Lucknow. He credited the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and Special Task Force (STF) with action against terrorists, organised criminals, paper leak rackets and illicit liquor operators.
The CM said his government had revived Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) companies and established three women PAC battalions named after Veerangana Uda Devi Pasi, Veerangana Jhalkari Bai Kori and Veerangana Avanti Bai Lodhi. He added that five lakh cashless health cards had been issued to police personnel and their families under the police salary package.
He also defended the implementation of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, saying new criminal laws had replaced the colonial-era legal framework.
The ceremony was attended by UP DGP Rajeev Krishna, DGP (PAC) Alok Singh, senior administrative and police officers, public representatives and families of personnel who died in the line of duty.