IAS vs IPS in UP

A confrontation has risen between IAS and IPS officers on the commissionerate system in UP Police.

Following Governor Ram Naik’s strong pitch for a police commissioner in the state, supported by DGP OP Singh with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the UP IAS Association has decided to put up its points against the state government on this issue. The association has decided to convene an executive committee meeting to deliberate on the contentious issue, which sources say, IAS officers see as an “encroachment into executive territory.”

If this happens, judicial and executive powers–from inquiries to granting licenses, permits and permissions–will be shifted to police officers from magistrates. “Apart from the executive committee meeting, the matter will be taken up at the annual general body meeting of the association during the Services Week,” informed UP IAS Association secretary Alok Kumar. The association has planned to present its case to Governor Ram Naik and CM Yogi Adityanath. Naik, while addressing a function during the Police Week, had batted for having a police commissioner in the state and said it could begin from appointments in Lucknow, Kanpur and Ghaziabad. Following this, the DGP brought the matter to the notice of Yogi while speaking at a programme. This is not the first time that the state is witnessing a territorial war between the two services. Earlier, then chief secretary Rajive Kumar had written a letter to then DGP Sulkhan Singh, stripping the district police chiefs off certain powers. Singh had refused to follow and had asked Kumar to withdraw his letter. All eyes are now on Yogi as to how he tackles the issue.