Rajeev Krishna appointed as UP’s first permanent DGP in 4 years

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh government on Saturday appointed 1991 batch IPS officer Rajeev Krishna as the state’s new director general of police (DGP), making him the first permanent state police chief after nearly four years.

Krishna was already serving as the officiating DGP, having succeeded Prashant Kumar in May 2025. Additional chief secretary, home, Sanjay Prasad issued the order of Krishna’s appointment as the DGP on Sunday.

He will now head the country’s largest police force with nearly three years of service remaining before his retirement in June 2029. As per the UPSC guidelines, Krishna will have a minimum tenure of at least two years. He will continue to serve as the director general of Vigilance Establishment.

His appointment marks the end of a prolonged phase during which UP functioned without a permanent police chief. The last regular DGP was Mukul Goel, who was removed from the post in May 2022.

Since then, the state has seen five officiating police chiefs — DS Chauhan, RK Vishwakarma, Vijay Kumar, Prashant Kumar, and Rajeev Krishna.

The state govt had sent a list of 19 IPS officers to the UPSC for the selection of the permanent DGP. The commission held a meeting on the issue in Delhi on May 26 attended by UP chief secretary SP Goyal.

Three names -- Renuka Mishra, Piyush Anand and Rajeev Krishna -- were shortlisted at the meeting and sent to the state govt for a final selection. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath endorsed Krishna’s name on Sunday.

Known for his no-nonsense approach to policing, Rajeev Krishna was given the charge of police recruitment board amid the cancellation constable recruitment examination following the allegations of paper leak in 2024.

He was entrusted with the responsibility of conducting the fresh recruitment process, and he succeeded. Under his supervision, more than 60,000 constables were recruited through a process praised for transparency, efficiency and strict monitoring.

Over a career spanning more than three decades, Krishna has held several key operational and leadership positions. He has served as superintendent of police and senior superintendent of police in districts like Mathura, Etawah, Agra, GB Nagar and Lucknow.

He also headed the Uttar Pradesh Police Academy, where he played a significant role in training and mentoring young officers.

Krishna is credited with establishing the foundation of the state’s anti-terror infrastructure as the founding chief of the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad. His tenure helped shape the agency’s operational framework and counter-terror capabilities.

At the national level, he served as the inspector general (operations) in the Border Security Force, overseeing operations along both the Indo-Pakistan and Indo-Bangladesh borders. During this period, he implemented sensor-based surveillance systems under the Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System, aimed at strengthening border security and operational efficiency.

Known within police circles for promoting technology-driven policing, Krishna has introduced several innovations during his field postings. As ADG Agra Zone, he launched Operation Pehchaan, a mobile-based platform designed to identify and track repeat offenders.

He also pushed for digitisation initiatives such as e-Malkhana for managing case property records and strengthened online monitoring mechanisms for women’s beat policing and Anti-Romeo squads.

He has also been associated with efforts to enhance cybercrime prevention and investigation capabilities through public awareness campaigns and specialised training programmes for police personnel.

Born in Lucknow on June 20, 1969, Krishna holds a bachelor’s degree in electronics and communication engineering. After clearing the Civil Services Examination in 1991, he joined the Indian Police Service and built a reputation as a professional officer with a clean image and strong operational credentials as the youngest IPS officer in the state. He was just 22 then.

One of the defining phases of his career came in 2004 as SSP Agra, when he led a series of operations against notorious kidnapping gangs operating in the ravines of western Uttar Pradesh.

With law and order, cybercrime, organised crime and police modernisation emerging as major challenges for the state, Krishna’s appointment is expected to provide continuity and stability to India’s largest police force. His selection is also being viewed as a signal that the government intends to deepen technology-led policing reforms while strengthening the force’s professional image and operational effectiveness.