LUCKNOW, June 1 -- Two key factors were behind the selection of senior IPS officer Rajeev Krishna as the acting DGP, a senior home department official said. Krishna proved his mettle after ensuring the smooth conduct of the biggest police recruitment written examination in August last year and helping the government bounce back from two back-to-back question paper leaks in February 2024. "First, the way Krishna handled the biggest police recruitment written examination and got it conducted successfully recently. The state government faced a major embarrassment after back-to-back question paper leaks in February 2024. The entire police recruitment written examination was cancelled and reconducted in August last year. Second, Krishna suits the new rule laid down by the state government for the appointment of a permanent DGP in November 2024," he emphasised. The new rule stated that only those senior IPS officers with a minimum of six months' service remaining will be considered for the coveted post. The new rule stated that the DGP in U.P. will have a minimum two-year tenure. If an officer has only six months service left, it can be extended by another 1.5 years. The officials elaborated that Krishna earned the state government's trust as he pulled off the Herculean task of conducting the police recruitment exam involving 48,17,441 applicants, including 15 lakh women. The successful completion of the recruitment process for 60,244 posts of police constable turned out to be a major relief for the government. This was about six months after question papers of Review Officer (RO) and Assistant RO were also leaked before the police recruitment question paper leak in February last year, he recalled. The official further said Krishna used a comprehensive strategy, including AI, strict confidentiality protocols, and rigorous security arrangements to dismantle the plans of copying mafias and solver gangs. He said AI enabled strong safeguards against any malpractice during the examination process. Reacting to the appointment of Krishna, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday took a swipe at the double engine government. Taking to X, he wrote, "Now, it remains to be seen whether the new person is able to free himself from the web that has been woven in the entire state and deliver justice impartially or else he too becomes a victim of politics by getting trapped in the same web. Why should the people of UP and poor law and order suffer due to the Delhi-Lucknow fight? When the 'double engine' cannot choose an officer together, then how will they run the country and the state," he wrote. State BJP vice-president Vijay Bahadur Pathak said merit is the sole criteria in the appointment of Rajeev Krishna....