Uttar Pradesh gets officiating DGP again — for third time in a row

He succeeds Dr Raj Kumar Vishwakarma, who has been the officiating DGP since March 31 this year. Vishwakarma was also holding the post of chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Police Recruitment & Promotion Board.

Vishwakarma had taken over the charge from Devendra Singh Chauhan, who served as officiating DGP for nearly 11 months before his retirement. Chauhan was named as officiating DGP after the government removed 1987-batch IPS officer Mukul Goel from the post following allegations of “inaction” and “lack of interest towards work.” Goel is set to retire in February next year.

Vijaya Kumar, who holds a BTech in civil engineering, has been given preference over his batchmate Anand Kumar, who is the DG of UP Police (Cooperative Cell). Anand Kumar, who hails from Bihar, is the next seniormost IPS officer after Vishwakarma.

Vijaya Kumar is set to retire from services in January next year and Anand Kumar will retire in April 2024.

In a statement, Vijaya Kumar, while expressing his gratitude toward Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, said that upholding the state government’s “zero tolerance” policy towards crime would be among his top priority. “It would ensure that peace and harmony are maintained in the state, and strict action against anti-social elements,” Vijaya Kumar said, adding he would increase foot patrolling to ensure police visibility on roads.

On Wednesday, 1989-batch IPS officer Chandra Prakash, who was DG (Special Investigation), also retired from service.

Vijaya Kumar, who hails from Jhansi district, has served earlier in various capacities in the UP Police. He was Superintendent and Senior Superintendent of Police in Pilibhit, Banda, Maharajganj, Muzaffarnagar, Gorakhpur and Lucknow. He was posted as Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) in Allahabad (now Prayagraj), Meerut, and Azamgarh ranges and as Inspector General (IG) in Agra, Kanpur, and Gorakhpur zones. He also served as Additional Director General of Police in Security and Traffic and Uttar Pradesh Police Recruitment & Promotion Board.

Vijaya Kumar will be the first Scheduled Caste IPS officer to hold the top post in 12 years. The last Dalit DGP was Brij Lal, who was appointed in October 2011 when BSP was in power in the state. Brij Lal is at present a Rajya Sabha member from the BJP.

In a bid to appoint a permanent DGP for the state, the Yogi Adityanath government had sent a panel of six IPS officers to the Centre for final selection for the top post of the police department.

There are five 1989-batch IPS officers, and among them, three are on central deputation. The three officers — Aditya Mishra, PV Ramasastry, and Safi Ahsan Rizvi — are still in the ADG rank. The other two officers — Sandeep Salunke and Ashish Gupta — are posted in UP.

While Sandeep Salunke is Director General (Human Rights Commission), Ashish Gupta is waiting for his next posting. They are set to retire in 2026.

There are 14 IPS officers in the 1990 IPS batch.

Two days ago, Samajwadi Party president and former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav had hit out at the BJP government for not appointing a permanent DGP.

“The current DGP is set to retire on May 31. Will the BJP government again appoint an acting DGP without responsibility and accountability? It appears that both the police administration and the UP government are running away from their responsibilities,” Yadav, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, had tweeted.