Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath said his government is now maintaining transparent and fair police recruitment. He also assured that the introduction of the police station system is part of the reforms aimed at strengthening the police in the state.
“Earlier in Uttar Pradesh, IPS officers were oppressed by IAS officers, who kept files buried. Once a file was closed, it was almost impossible to reopen it. Even if Yamraj came, it was difficult for an IAS officer to open that file,” he said.
The Chief Minister said the commissionerate system has now been implemented in seven districts of the state and described it as part of police reforms.
Proposals to implement the police station system were pending since 1972 but were not implemented, the chief minister said at a program in the state capital where he distributed appointment letters to 930 computer operators (grade-A) recruited by the Uttar Pradesh Police Recruitment and Promotion Board.
The Uttar Pradesh government established the police commissionerate system in January 2020, starting with Gautam Budh Nagar and Lucknow. The system was eventually rolled out in five more districts — Varanasi, Prayagraj, Ghaziabad, Kanpur and Agra.
Under the commissioner system, the Commissioner of Police (an SPI officer) leads the police with enhanced executive powers, replacing the previous arrangement where the district magistrate and the superintendent of police shared some law and order responsibilities.
Adityanath said transparent recruitment is essential for establishing rule of law and good governance.
“Today we are distributing appointment letters for 930 computer operators. Recently, the examination was done for nearly 35 thousand police positions, in which about 28 million young people applied. Before that, examinations were also done for 41 thousand home guard positions”, he said.
“In the last nine years, around 2.15 million policemen have been recruited at various stages. All these processes have been completed with full transparency. There has been no recommendation, no discrimination,” the prime minister said.
He said a strong law and order system begins with a fair recruitment process, followed by proper training of personnel.
Adityanath said police infrastructure has also been strengthened, with forensic facilities expanded across the state.
“Earlier Uttar Pradesh had only four forensic laboratories, but today we have increased it to 12 and the state police also has its own forensic institute,” he said.
Every district now has mobile forensics labs, with larger districts having three such units and smaller districts having two, he said.
“If these preparations had not been made earlier, the three new criminal laws could not be effectively implemented”, he added.
The CM further said that earlier Uttar Pradesh had only one cyber police station but now every district has one and every police station has a cyber help desk to deal with the growing cases of online fraud.
Recalling the law and order situation in the state about a decade ago, Adityanath said there was a time when even police officers were not safe.
Referring to an incident in Moradabad, he said an IPS officer of the rank of DIG was attacked by a mob during the violence, highlighting the challenges faced by the police at the time.
“If an SPI officer was not safe then, then one can imagine the plight of ordinary citizens and women,” he said, adding that the situation has changed and law and order has improved under his rule.
The program was attended by Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Suresh Khanna, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Sanjay Prasad and DGP Rajeev Krishna, among others.
Adityanath told the newly appointed computer operators that they will play an important role as “digital warriors” in the police system and will have to prepare themselves for new challenges emerging in the digital age.
He said his government has provided about 9 million government jobs, improved law and order and promoted investment and industry in the state.
The Chief Minister claimed that the number of factories in Uttar Pradesh has increased from around 14,000 before 2017 to more than 32,000 now, creating more employment opportunities within the state.
He added that the per capita income has also tripled since 2017.
(With PTI input)
