Senior police officer Arun Kumar Gupta is the new director general of police of Uttar Pradesh, the state government announced on Thursday.
Gupta, a 1977-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, pipped five other contenders for the top post, although he will occupy it for only a month as he is due to retire on January 30.
He is the second officer to be appointed DGP for one month after RK Tiwari, who held the post for a similar period during the previous Mayawati government.
Gupta, who succeeded AL Banerjee, was picked as he was the seniormost among the contenders that included AK Jain, Praveen Singh, VK Gupta, Surya Kumar and Jagmohan Yadav.
Sources said Gupta’s name had been cleared after intense politicking for one of the most coveted positions in the state.
The government also promoted seven 1982-83 batch IPS officers to the post of director general on December 31, sparking speculation that one of them would get the top job when Gupta retires at the end of the month.