The Uttar Pradesh Police (UP Police) (IAST: Uttara Pradeśha Pulisa), is the primary law enforcement agency within the Uttar Pradesh state of India. Established in 1863 as the Office of the Inspector General of Police, United Provinces under the Police Act, 1861.[8]
Uttar Pradesh Police is one of the oldest police departments in the Republic of India, and is the largest police force in the world, having about 68 district police department (excluding 7 commissionerates) in it.[9]
The Uttar Pradesh Police is headquartered at Signature Building, Gomti Nagar Extension in Lucknow which was earlier located in city of Prayagraj. [10]
The Uttar Pradesh Police employ around 1,368 gazetted officers, and 231,443 non gazetted uniformed officers. Uttar Pradesh Police is governed by the Department of Home and Confidential of Uttar Pradesh.[8] The Uttar Pradesh Police is headed by the Director General of Police (DGP) for the state of Uttar Pradesh, who is the highest-ranking (DG) IPS officer of the state cadre. UP Police is the first Indian state police agency to have a highway patrol Unit, the UP-Highway Police (UPHP).[11]
History
The present police system in the country was created following the recommendation of the Police Commission headed by Mr. H.M. Court in 1860,[12] which led to the enactment of the Police Act of 1861 that is in force even today.[13] The same Mr. Court became the first Inspector General of Police (IGP) of the then North West Province and Avadh which comprised the territory of the present state of Uttar Pradesh. The Police structure was erected in the form of the following eight organizations:
Provincial Police
Government Railway Police
Municipal Police
Cantonment Police
Town Police
Rural and Road Police
Canal Police
Barkandaj Guard (to protect the courts)
The Civil Police too continued to grow and Mr. B.N. Lahiri was the first Indian Inspector General of Police of Uttar Pradesh after independence. The performance of the state police in the spheres of Crime control and maintenance of law and order was highly appreciated, due to which it had the proud privilege of being the first police force in the country to receive the President's Color on 23 November 1952 by the then Prime Minister of India, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru. Various specialized wings of the U.P. police have since come into existence for combating organized crimes, economic offences, terrorism, etc.[13]
A Director General of Police (DGP) heads the state police. He is assisted by many police officers. State police headquarters is situated in Lucknow.
For the purpose of maintaining law and order in the state, the state of Uttar Pradesh is divided into 8 police zones. Each zone is headed by an officer of the rank of additional director general of police who is an officer of the Indian police Service. Each police zone is constituted by 2 to 3 police ranges. There are a total of 18 police ranges in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Each range is headed by an officer of the rank of either inspector general of police or deputy inspector general of police. Each police range is constituted by around 2 to 4 districts.
The number of SPs and Deputy SPs varies with the size, population, police work, or nature of police work in different districts. The number of SPs and Dy.SPs in districts like Gorakhpur, Bareilly, Meerut, Moradabad is considerably more than other districts. Whereas in smaller districts like Baghpat, Kannauj, Mahoba, Chandauli the number of the PPS officers is relatively lesser.
Typically, a police district in the state corresponds with the administrative district. Though, the head of the police force in the district is the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP)/Superintendent of police (SP), who is always an officer of the Indian Police Service, the ultimate/final responsibility with regard to the maintenance of the law and order in the district lies with the district magistrate who is an officer of the Indian Administrative Service. The police district is further subdivided into police sub-divisions or police circles. A police circle is usually headed by an officer of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police or Assistant Superintendent of Police. The officer heading the police circle/sub-division is designated as the Circle Officer (C.O.) in the state of Uttar Pradesh. A police circle is usually constituted by 2 to 4 police stations. Each police station is headed by a police inspector. Throughout the state of Uttar Pradesh and other states, especially in North India, there is the main police station in the older/ main part of the city known as the Kotwali. The Kotwali covers the main or usually the older part of the town/city under its jurisdiction. Earlier, when the cities and towns were smaller and had a lesser population than at present and they hadn't grown in size so much, Kotwali covered the main town area of the cities or the districts. A police station is also called as a thana in the local language. The officer in charge of a police station is designated as or called as the station officer (S.O.) or station house officer (S.H.O). He is assisted by various sub-inspectors, head-constables, constables. There are also a number of police chowkis that come under the police station. A police chowki is under the charge of a sub-inspector of police. The regular constabulary carries the bulk of normal beat policing and patrolling.
Zones, Ranges and districts
List of the police zones, ranges and districts falling under them
In Lucknow Police, the CP is assisted by 2 Joint Commissioners of Police (JCPs) with the ranks of IG and DIG, in Kanpur Police the commissioner is assisted by 2 Additional Commissioners (Addl. CPs) in the ranks of IG and DIG who look after Law and order while other looks into Crime & Headquarters respectively, whereas in all other commissionerates the commissioner is assisted by Addl.CP(s) of DIG rank. Under them, there is a team of IPS & PPS officers who are posted as DCPs and ACPs. Three DCPs are posted in a zone. One DCP's insignia is the state emblem above one star, who is senior to the other two DCPs, whose insignia is one state emblem only. Under the DCPs work ACPs, who are the chiefs of various circles. They are vested with the powers of the executive magistrate for criminal cases.
Police Commissionerates are independent of zonal & range police chiefs' supervision. They are also vested with powers of an executive magistrate under various acts.
The One Five Pointed Star for the rank of Inspector is used by Police forces of 7 states viz. West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Sikkim, Assam, Nagaland and Tripura. This is because Inspectors of Police in these 7 states are Gazetted Officers. However, the Kolkata Police uses the Four Pointed Star of the Order of Bath for the ranks of Inspector and Assistant Commissioner of Police instead of Five Pointed Star. For the ranks of ASI, SI/Sergeant and Deputy Commissioner of Police, the usual Five Pointed Star is used
Colour pattern and size of chevrons may vary according to the different rules of several distinct Indian State Police services.
List of Inspector Generals of United Provinces Police [34]
No.
Name
From
To
11
SG Pearce
1 December 1946
26 October 1947
10
P Meabsure
28 June 1945
30 November 1946
10
MA Inglis
6 July 1940
26 June 1945
9
RA Horton
7 November 1937
5 July 1940
8
AH Phillips
15 March 1937
6 November 1937
7
RA Horton
16 June 1935
18 February 1937
5
ST Holling
7 April 1934
15 June 1935
6
HR Roe
5 November 1933
6 April 1934
5
ST Holling
27 April 1931
4 November 1933
RJS Dodd
5 November 1928
25 March 1931
4
AH Williamson
3 May 1928
4 November 1928
3
RJS Dodd
7 November 1925
2 May 1928
2
AD Ashdown
1 October 1923
6 November 1925
1
LM Kaye
23 February 1919
30 September 1923
Technology
Facial recognition system
UP police uses a database of 500,000+ criminals with facial recognition technology in its "Trinetra" face identification system.[39][40]
Social media research center
A social media command and research center has been established in Meerut. The center monitors trends in social media that can have an impact on law & order situation and advise concerned district and range police chiefs.[41]
In 2007, 18,000 police officers were fired as they were hired despite being unqualified for the job. These new recruits were illiterates who bribed between ₹100,000 and ₹500,000 to cheat in the UP police entrance tests.[51]
In 2020, Uttar Pradesh government started an operation to screen allegedly corrupt police officials who will be forced to take retirement.[52]
Fake encounters
In 2018, India Today carried out an investigative piece reporting incidents of UP police framing innocent people and killing them in staged encounters for money and promotions.[53] A sub-inspector had allegedly offered to gun down an innocent civilian for around Rs 8 lakh.[54] Between 2015–2018, 211 complaints of fake encounters were filed in India out of which 39 were on UP police.[55] In 2012, 17 UP police personnel were given life term for killing an incontinent 24-year-old man in a 1992 fake encounter and later they branded the victim as a terrorist.[56]
On 10 July 2020, Uttar Pradesh police personnel were involved in the encounter of gangster and former BSP leader Vikas Dubey. Dubey was apprehended a day before near the Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga temple in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh. The police vehicle taking him back to Uttar Pradesh was involved in a crash; seeing the opportunity, Dubey allegedly snatched a pistol from a policeman trying to fix a flat tire and tried to run away,[57] before being killed by the Uttar Pradesh police.[58] An earlier attempt to arrest Dubey resulted in the death of eight policemen, including a DSP rank officer. Through an investigation, call records showed that Dubey was in contact with multiple police personnel, who were acting as moles and leaked information to him.[59]
Moral Policing
The Uttar Pradesh Police has been extensively involved in incidents of moral policing. These incidents have earned ire from general public and media personnel, besides the Supreme Court.
On 19 December 2005, police personnel raided a public park in Meerut, accompanied by cameras crews from TV channels. They attacked couples sitting in the park in front of cameras. The raid was termed "Operation Majnu" (named after the folklore) and it was claimed by the police that the purpose was to check sexual harassment.[60][61]
On 29 November 2011, the Ghaziabad police launched its own "Operation Majnu". The police caught couples in parks and made the men do sit-ups in front of TV cameras. The head of the operation an officer called Alka Pandey said it was to prevent "innocent girls being trapped by boys with evil motives".[62]
On 10 August 2013, Ghaziabad police raided a hotel on a tip-off and detained 56 adult couples. It was later found out of them, 52 couples were married or consenting friends. The police had carried out the raid after locals noticed usual traffic to the hotel and told the police.[63][64]
In 2017, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath started the anti-romeo squads in the department for safety of women and young girls from sexual harassment and eve-teasing. However, the squads were found to be involved in acts of moral policing, harassment of couples, as well as extortion.[65] Due to such incidents, the Police force and the Government came under fire from media for such incidents of moral policing, as well as misuse of authority, eventually demanding that the squads be disbanded.[66]
Crimes against Women
The Uttar Pradesh Police has an infamous history of refusing to file reports and investigate crimes against women, notably rape cases, especially when high profile individuals like political leaders are involved, or caste bias. This has led to botched investigations, or cases being assigned to the CBI. Despite the changes mandated by Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, the attitude of Uttar Pradesh Police officials has often been lackluster, which has worsened crime rate and safety of women, especially in the rural areas and with most victims belonging to minority and backward castes.[67] There have also been police officers accused of crimes against women, especially rape, molestation, and sexual harassment. In several cases, lower ranked police personnel have faced suspension and dismissal for inaction, ignorance, and insensitivity by indulging in victim blaming instead of investigating the crimes and apprehending the culprits.[68]
In February 2017, on the orders of Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, the Uttar Pradesh Police refused to file a rape case against Gayatri Prasad Prajapati, then minister of State for mining. Following the refusal, the victim approached Supreme Court, which ordered the department to have the report filed and conduct an investigation. Gayatri Prasad Prajapati was arrested in March 2017 after absconding for long.[69] On 12 November 2021, he was sentenced to life on the charges of rape.[70]
The Uttar Pradesh Police was criticized for mishandling the 2017 Unnao rape case, which involved expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar. The victim's father went to file report earlier, but after initial refusal by the department, the Supreme Court took action and ordered filing the report. However, in the aftermath, 6 officers were suspended for arresting the victim's father and subsequent custodial death, who was also assaulted by the accused's brother Atul Sengar.[71][72] Following outrage and protests, the CBI took over the investigation and the case was handed to Allahabad High Court. Kuldeep Sengar was convicted in December 2019 and sentenced to life imprisonment for rape and kidnapping, along with a fine of Rs 25 lakhs.[73]
In the 2020 Hathras gang rape and murder, the Uttar Pradesh Police came under fire, after some officials forcibly cremated the body of the victim girl without the consent of her family.[74] DK Verma, the station house officer of Chandpa Police Station, was transferred for his "failure to promptly act" in the case, as well as humiliating the victim, refusal to file a report, and failure to follow procedures laid down for investigation of rape.[75] A CBI team, appointed by the State Government in the aftermath, heavily condemned the Uttar Pradesh Police for cover-up through inaction and delay in collecting samples as well as other evidence, eventually botching up the investigation, along with misconduct against the victim's family and failure to provide timely medical aid to the victim. The botched investigation led to the acquittal of 3 of the 4 accused, as with lack of crucial evidence, neither of them charged with rape and murder; furthermore, the department was also condemned for failure to stop protests led by expelled BJP MLA Rajveer Singh Pehelwan, with activists and members of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal, who held a rally in support for the accused as they belonged to the upper castes.[76] Additionally, the Provincial Armed Constabulary, tasked to protect the victim's family, was slammed for allowing kin of accused and the upper caste villagers to enter the premises of the victim's family and threaten them to take back their case; following media allegations, the CRPF took over the security of the family. Following the trial in March 2023 at the Hathras district court, which led to acquittal of 3 suspects of 4 with the last one only charged for culpable homicide not amounting to murder (IPC Section 304) and provisions under the SC/ST Act, the prosecution and defense appealed the trial in the Allahabad High Court.[77]
On 20 September 2023, eight police personnel across the state were arrested and charged for different crimes against women.[78]
Political Influence and Interference
From 30 October 1990 to 2 November 1990, on the orders of Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, the Uttar Pradesh Police attacked Kar Sevaks in Ayodhya, killing 17 devotees.[79] The action was heavily condemned, and Yadav suffered a heavy defeat in the 1991 elections as a result, and was labeled "Mulla" Mulayam Singh by opposition leaders, especially the Bharatiya Janata Party.[80]
On 18 March 2015, the Uttar Pradesh police arrested a minor teenager from Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, for making a post on Facebook insulting politician Azam Khan. The post allegedly contained hate speech against a community and was falsely attributed to Azam Khan by the boy. He was charged under Section 66A of the IT Act, and Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different religions), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and 505 (public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code. After Section 66A was struck down by the Supreme Court on 24 March 2015, the state government said that they would continue the prosecution under the remaining charges.[81][82]
On 10 July 2015, IPS Officer Amitabh Thakur, who was posted as an IG, alleged that former Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, had threatened him on a phone call. He released the audio of the phone call, in which Yadav is allegedly heard saying certain sentences of threatening nature:[83][84] Thakur alleged that Mulayam Singh was unhappy about the complaint lodged by his wife Nutan against the state minister Gayatri Prasad Prajapati for illegal mining activities.[84] In retaliation, Thakur was charged with false cases of rape and disproportionate assets, both of which were proven to be baseless and he was cleared by the Economic Offenses Wing and the Vigilance Department.
Supporting Right Wing Organizations
The Uttar Pradesh Police has received widespread condemnation for filing charges against victims of cow vigilantism. The victims, who have been accused of cow slaughter or smuggling of cattle, belong to either Muslim or lower caste Hindu communities.[85][86]
Following the introduction of Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Ordinance, 2020 in Uttar Pradesh to curb Love Jihad, the Uttar Pradesh Police, collaborating with Bajrang Dal, have attempted to stop interfaith marriages. In certain cases, misconduct of Uttar Pradesh Police officials have resulted in backlash, especially against women thought to be victims of Love Jihad.[87] The police personnel have also targeted couples involved in inter-caste marriages, while apparently using this law against Muslim and Dalit community, along with stopping consensual inter-faith marriages.[88][89]
In 2014, a girl, whose father was a liquor baron in Agra, eloped with a man and sought shelter with the Love Commandos in nearby New Delhi. The girl's father used his influence to ask the Uttar Pradesh police in Agra to search for the girl. Agra police allegedly managed to find the girl's location in a suburban area in New Delhi by using her cellphone signal. They began combing area while being armed. Ultimately, the Delhi Police had to intervene and stop the illegal search.[90]
In Popular culture
These law enforcement officers have been depicted in Indian cinema through various films. The Dabangg series of films starring Salman Khan are an example of depiction of the UP Police. Bhaukaal (web series) is based on Senior IPS Officer Navniet Sekera of U.P. Police.[91]
↑The Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) is a post, not a rank, typically held by an SP (selection grade or junior grade) in states like Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Punjab.
↑Inspector or Circle Inspector with One Five-Pointed Star insignia exists in West Bengal.
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