LUCKNOW: Senior IPS officer Rajeev Krishna is appointed as the new acting Director General of Police (DGP) of Uttar Pradesh, replacing Prashant Kumar, the 1990-batch IPS officer, who retired on Saturday.
This put an end to the speculation over the extension of UP DGP Prashant Kumar's tenure.
A 1991-batch officer of the UP cadre, Krishna recently oversaw the smooth completion of India’s largest-ever police recruitment drive, in which 60,244 constables were inducted—a process hailed for its transparency and efficiency amid mounting public scrutiny following a major exam leak controversy earlier this year.
Krishna, after taking over from Prashant Kumar, became the fifth officer to hold the position of acting DGP since 2022.
The last permanent DGP in the state was Mukul Goel, who was removed two years ago on the grounds of indiscipline. Since then, DS Chauhan, RK Vishwakarma, Vijaya Kumar and Prashant Kumar served as interim chiefs.
Prior to his latest assignment, Krishna had been serving as the Director General of Police (Recruitment and Promotion Board) (UPPRPB) and also held the concurrent charge of Director, Vigilance Establishment.
Previously, he served as Director General of the Uttar Pradesh Police Academy, where he was responsible for training and mentoring new generations of police officers.
Krishna, the founding chief of the UP Anti-Terror Squad (ATS), has held several challenging field assignments, including postings as SP/SSP in Mathura, Etawah, Agra, Noida, and Lucknow.
At the national level, Krishna served as Inspector General of Operations, Border Security Force (BSF), where he oversaw operations along both the Indo-Pakistan and Indo-Bangladesh borders for four years.
Krishna also led the charge against cybercrime, initiating both awareness campaigns and advanced training programmes for police personnel and the public.
Belonging to Lucknow, Rajeev Krishna holds a Bachelor's degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering.
After clearing the UPSC Civil Services Examination in 1991, he was inducted into the Indian Police Service. One of the most impactful chapters of his career was his tenure as SSP Agra in 2004, when he led decisive crackdowns against notorious kidnapping gangs operating in the ravines.