Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP) Rajeev Krishna on Wednesday said the state police is pursuing a “zero tolerance” policy against crime, focusing not only on arrests but also on securing convictions and strict punishment for offenders.
Addressing a press conference, the DGP said the UP Police arrests an average of around seven lakh accused persons every year. He stressed that the effort goes beyond arrests, with strong investigations and effective prosecution aimed at ensuring convictions in court. “Our objective is not just to send criminals to jail, but to make sure they are punished,” he said.
Providing figures for 2025, the DGP said 48 criminals were killed in police encounters in the state, the highest number recorded in recent years. He asserted that all actions were taken within the framework of law and that there was no leniency towards hardened and organised criminals. Continuous pressure, he added, has been maintained on criminal gangs.
Comparing police action between March 20, 2017, and December 29, 2025, the DGP said that the data showed that 266 accused persons had been killed in police encounters since 2018, reflecting the state police’s emphasis on what he described as a “zero-tolerance policy” against crime following the Chief Minister’s instructions.
In 2025 alone, police conducted 2,739 operations, during which 3,153 accused were injured, while 48 were killed in encounters. One policeman was also killed during these operations, the data showed. The number of alleged criminals killed in police operations stood at 41 in 2018, 34 in 2019, and 26 each in 2020 and 2021. In 2022, the figures dropped to 13, before rising to 26 in 2023 and 25 in 2024, the data showed.
Over the eight-year period since 2017, police carried out 16,284 operations in total, in which 10,990 accused were injured and 266 killed. During these actions, 1,783 police personnel were injured and 18 lost their lives, according to the data. Yogi Adityanath took charge as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in March 2017.
Meanwhile, according to the police data shared at the press conference, a total of 1,25,985 criminals have been convicted since July 2023. Among these, 79 offenders have received death penalty, reflecting what the DGP described as stronger case preparation and effective courtroom advocacy by the police.
On women’s safety, the DGP claimed that incidents of rape have declined by 53 percent compared to 2017. He attributed the reduction to stricter monitoring, prompt police action, and a more sensitive approach to policing.
The DGP also highlighted action against drug networks. Under the NDPS Act, preventive detention under the PIT NDPS has been invoked in 15 cases. The Anti-Narcotics Task Force has seized illegal assets worth over Rs 16 crore this year. Breaking drug supply chains remains a top priority of the government, he said.
Overall, the DGP maintained that the figures demonstrate a shift in policing in Uttar Pradesh — from merely registering cases to ensuring that criminals are effectively prosecuted and punished.