UP considers police commissioner system for Lucknow

The Uttar Pradesh government is considering the introduction of the police commissioner system for Lucknow and Noida, the state police chief said here on Friday.

The senior superintendents of police for Lucknow and Gautam Buddh Nagar (Noida) were transferred on Thursday and no new officers posted there immediately.

"The government is discussing the commissioner system for Lucknow and Noida," Director General of Police O P Singh said.

The system gives more powers, including magisterial powers, to IPS officers of the Inspector General of Police (IG) rank posted as commissioners.

The system has been implemented in around 71 cities across 15 states in the country.

As of now, the magisterial powers are with the IAS officers, a senior police officer said.

The move was initiated earlier also but could not be implemented as IAS and IPS officers were at loggerheads.

In December 2018, former UP Governor Ram Naik had suggested the state government to seriously consider introducing the system in the state for improvement in the law and order situation.

He had given the suggestion in the presence of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath while addressing a function at the Reserve Police Lines in Lucknow.

Naik had suggested the state government to introduce the system on a trial basis in Lucknow, Kanpur and Ghaziabad where the population has exceeded the 20-lakh mark.