Rajeev Krishna appointed acting DGP of Uttar Pradesh

New Director General of Police (DGP) of Uttar Pradesh Rajeev Krishna, left, with outgoing DGP Prashant Kumar after he assumed the charge of the office, in Lucknow, Saturday, May 31, 2025. | Photo Credit: PTI

The Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday appointed 1991-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Rajeev Krishna as the new Director General of Police (DGP). Mr. Krishna will lead the State police force in an acting capacity, becoming the fifth consecutive officer to hold the top post in an officiating role.

A native of Gautam Buddha Nagar district and a graduate in Electronics and Communication, Mr. Krishna is currently serving as Director General, Vigilance, and DG, Uttar Pradesh Police Recruitment and Promotion Board. He began his professional career in the Uttar Pradesh Police as a trainee IPS officer in Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad), and subsequently served as Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) in Bareilly, Kanpur, and Aligarh. He has also held the posts of Superintendent of Police (SP) and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) in various districts including Firozabad, Agra, Lucknow, and Mathura. Mr. Krishna is scheduled to retire in June 2029.

Since May 2022, the State has seen a succession of acting DGPs, with Devendra Singh Chauhan holding the post for 11 months. He was followed by R.K. Vishwakarma, Vijay Kumar, and Prashant Kumar, all in an officiating capacity.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav criticised the appointment, alleging that the repeated selection of acting DGPs reflects administrative indecisiveness within the ruling dispensation.

“U.P. gets another acting DGP. Today, while leaving, he must be thinking what did he get from proving every wrong to be right. If he had been loyal to the Constitution and the law instead of the person, he would have at least got respect in their own eyes,” Mr. Yadav said in a post on social media platform X.

“Now it remains to be seen whether the new person will be able to free himself from the web that they have woven in the entire State and deliver justice impartially or else he too becomes a victim of politics by getting trapped in the same web,” he added.

Mr. Yadav further remarked, “Why should the people of Uttar Pradesh and the poor law and order situation bear the brunt of the Delhi-Lucknow fight? When the ‘double engine’ cannot together elect a single officer then how will they run the country and the State?”

Published - May 31, 2025 11:41 pm IST