Women In Command! Uttar Pradesh Welcomes Its First Woman Police Commissioner

The Uttar Pradesh government appointed Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Laxmi Singh as the new Noida Police chief in charge, making her the first-ever woman officer to hold a position as a Police Commissionerate in the state. The 2000-batch officer replaced Alok Singh in Gautam Buddh Nagar and is expected to take charge by November 30.

With her appointment, a new wave of change is expected in Uttar Pradesh regarding women's safety and organised crime rates. Her appointment came on November 28, when the state issued a transfer and posting list of 16 IPS officers in the state, including for the four new Commissionerates of Varanasi, Agra, and Prayagraj.

Impressive Career Profile

Presently, UP has seven police commissioners as per the policy structure created in 2020. In an announcement made on November 28, the state government brought in the posting of three new police commissioners, which included the first-ever woman Police Commissioner in UP. Singh took the position which was previously held by 1995-batch IPS officer Alok Singh, who has now been posted as the additional director general of police (ADGP) in the state capital Lucknow.

Singh rightfully deserved the posting as one of the candidates with an impressive line of career achievements. Right from the academic space, she proved her understanding of the field and bagged distinctions. She was also the first woman IPS topper (33rd rank overall) in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exams. She was named the best probationer at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy in Hyderabad.

In over a two-decade-long career, she received appreciation and accolades at several levels, including the silver baton from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a 9mm pistol as a prize from the Union Home Ministry. She also holds police medals, UP DGP's silver and gold medals, and the UP Chief Minister's medal for her excellence in service.

Singh is married to Rajeshwar Singh, a former IPS and Enforcement Directorate officer who voluntarily retired to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as a member of the legislative assembly.

Involvement In High Profile Cases

The 48-year-old entered the force as senior superintendent of police in 2004. She is a B.Tech Mechanical Engineering graduate but stepped into civil services to serve and protect the community. She rose to the ranks soon due to her line of service and was promoted to deputy Inspector General (IG) and IG ranks in 2013 and 2018, respectively.

Singh also briefly served as the IG/DIG of the Special Task Force (STF) in Gautam Buddh Nagar and was made IG of the police training school in Meerut before being moved to IG Range Lucknow. Officers who have worked closely with her call her a 'firebrand officer' who is committed to combatting crimes against women.

According to a report by NDTV, she maintains a personal diary of criminal incidents that occur in her jurisdiction and keeps close track of the same. She was in the investigation team that probed the role of police personnel in gangster Vikas Dubey's encounter and the Unnao case, where two people allegedly poisoned three Dalit girls. According to a report by The Print, she also played a key role in pacifying the farmers during the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in October 2021, for which she was rewarded with a medal for excellence in service.

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