1990 batch IPS officer Prashant Kumar has been appointed as the new acting DGP of Uttar Pradesh. He was serving as the Special DG of UP.
Mr. Kumar will replace current acting DGP Vijay Kumar, an IPS officer of 1988 batch, who is retiring today, 31 January, 2024.
Mr. Kumar was handling the responsibility of law and order for the last three and a half years. Apart from this, he also had the responsibility of EOW and State SIT.
This is the fourth consecutive time that an acting DGP has been appointed in UP. Earlier, DS Chauhan, RK Vishwakarma and Vijay Kumar had been made acting DGP by the UP government.
Mr. Kumar is also known as ‘Singham’ in UP Police. Recently he was honored with the Gallantry Award.
Originally from Siwan in Bihar, he is considered to be one of the favorite officers of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
He holds the degree of MSc, MPhil and MBA. His wife Dimple Verma is a retired IAS officer and currently a member of RERA.
During his tenure as ADG Zone Meerut, he had neutralised many criminals, after which, he was made ADG Law and Order. Thereafter, he prepared a list of 66 mafias of the state and started tightening the noose of the law around them. Under his leadership, STF and district police continued the encounters.
It is noteworthy that Mr. Kumar has received the President’s Gallantry Medal four times. He had also received a cash reward of Rs. 3 lakh from the Chief Minister for killing notorious criminal Udaybhan Yadav, who had a reward of Rs. 5 lakh on his head, in an encounter.
Apart from that, along with 3 cash awards, a total of 109 commendations/citations were given to him from the highest level. He will retire in May 2025.
