Lucknow: When a well-built young man deboarded a state roadways bus and walked into the office of the police superintendent in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur Dehat, an on-duty cop asked him to identify himself. “I am Prabhakar, the new SP,” he reportedly replied, causing bewilderment all around.
The IPS officer was Prabhakar Chaudhary. On 21 October 2016, he had chosen to take a public bus from Lucknow to Kanpur Dehat because, as he later told the Times of India, he used official vehicles only when on duty and not for personal purposes.
But despite his reputation for honesty and integrity, Chaudhary had a short-lived tenure as the SP of Kanpur Dehat—similar to his postings both before and after.
This week, the 2010-batch IPS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre received orders for his 18th transfer in eight years— just four months into his posting as the SSP, essentially the district police chief, of Bareilly.
The transfer came just hours after Chaudhary ordered a lathicharge to disperse a crowd of kanwariyas, or pilgrims participating in the annual Kanwar Yatra to collect holy water from the Ganges.
The incident occurred in Bareilly city on Sunday, 30 July, when a highly charged group of kanwariyas reportedly attempted to take out a procession, complete with a 15-ft-high DJ set, near a mosque, sparking protests from the Muslim community.
The area, notably, had already witnessed stone pelting outside the same Noor Shahi masjid on 23 July when the kanwariyas had allegedly taken out a procession with drums and a DJ set, leading to a police complaint by the Muslim community.
District officials revealed that efforts were made for six hours to reason with the kanwariyas this Sunday, but they did not relent and instead grew aggressive, prompting the police to resort to a “mild” lathicharge.
Speaking to mediapersons after the incident Chaudhary said that the kanwariyas did not have permission to move along the route they were insisting on and that it had not been in use for the purpose since 2015.
“This is merely a fight of egos, and mischievous elements had entered to create a disturbance. Hence, the non-traditional procession was stopped and they were dispersed,” he had said.
CCTV footage purporting to show a man in the crowd firing a gun during the incident has also gone viral.
However, hours after the kanwariyas were dispersed, and some detained, district police chief Chaudhary was transferred to Lucknow as commandant of the 32nd battalion provincial armed constabulary (PAC).
While there has been speculation about political reasons for the transfer, the UP government has remained tightlipped on the issue and officials have termed it a “routine” change of postings.
Police sources told ThePrint that the officer applied for a central posting two years ago, but is yet to be relieved by the UP government.
Chaudhary is yet to respond to ThePrint’s phone calls and WhatsApp queries.
Here’s a look at the IPS officer’s career, his numerous transfers so far, as well as the latest controversy.
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Serial district police chief, popular with public
Hailing from UP’s Ambedkarnagar, Prabhakar Chaudhary completed his higher education from Allahabad University, where he earned his BSc as well as LLB.
He cleared the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exam on his first attempt and embarked on his career as an Indian Police Service officer in 2010, starting out as an under-training assistant superintendent of police (ASP) in Noida. For the next few years, he served in this rank in various postings, including in Agra, Varanasi, Kanpur, and Jaunpur.
In January 2015, Chaudhary was posted as a district police chief for the first time as the SP of Lalitpur, located near the MP-UP border. After serving in this post for about 11 months, he was transferred to UP police intelligence headquarters.
On 13 January 2016, he was posted as SP of Deoria, a communally sensitive district in eastern UP, but was again transferred on 16 August 2016.
Chaudhary’s next posting, as the SP of Ballia, lasted just two months, but he became quite popular among the locals during the short stint for his work in the district.
According to local reports, his transfer on 15 October 2016 sparked a large public, with residents burning effigies to mark their protest and vowing to keep up momentum until he was brought back.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t long before Chaudhary was boarding a state roadways bus to Kanpur Dehat to take over as SP.
Then, weeks after the BJP defeated the Samajwadi Party and came to power for the first time in UP, Chaudhary was packing his bags again. This time, in April 2017, he was posted in the anti-terrorism squad (ATS) of the UP police.
Crackdowns on crime & some controversy
On 24 September 2017, Chaudhary took charge of Bijnor district as SP where he served only for six months before being transferred out to Mathura on 19 March, 2018.
According to a Live Hindustan report, Chaudhary’s tenure was marked by strict action against crime, including betting and drug rackets.
There was some controversy too. Amar Ujala reported in May 2018, Chaudhary got into a verbal altercation with local BJP leaders. He purportedly warned them to leave a helipad, where they had gathered to see off then deputy CM Dinesh Sharma, and to speak respectfully to his subordinates. The report claimed that the matter was escalated to the BJP’s state organisation.
Within a month or so of this incident, on 24 June 2018, the SSP was transferred out of Mathura to Sitapur.
During Chaudhary’s tenure, reported Aaj Tak, a group of lawyers forcibly entered the police station over a minor dispute, leading to policemen being assaulted. The bar president of Sitapur was subsequently jailed after a case of robbery was registered against him.
Next, Chaudhary was posted to Bulandshahr district on 8 December, 2018, where he replaced IPS officer Krishna Bahadur Singh. The latter was transferred in the aftermath of violence in the district over alleged cow slaughter when a police inspector and a villager were killed.
However, a little over two months later, on 20 February 2019, Chaudhary was again transferred, this time to Jhansi as the SP of the government railway police.
Govt choice for crime control post Ubha massacre
On 17 July 2019, ten Gond tribals were allegedly massacred by their Gujjar pradhan in Sonbhadra district’s Ubha village over a land dispute.
A subsequent investigation revealed a trail of corruption, and also led to the transfer of the district magistrate and SP by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath due to their alleged involvement in the case.
Amidst this volatile situation in Sonbhadra, Chaudhary was transferred as its SP on 4 August 2019, indicating the government’s trust in his abilities to maintain law and order.
However, Chaudhary’s stint as SP Sonbhadra too lasted only for two months before his transfer to the high-profile Varanasi district as police chief on 31 October 2019.
Eight months into this posting, he was transferred yet again on 7 July 2020, this time to west UP’s Moradabad. In December that year, when farmers were agitating against three now-repealed farm laws, Chaudhary’s vehicle was attacked and he received minor injuries, according to local reports.
Almost a year later into this posting, he was transferred to Meerut as SSP on 14 June 2021, where he served for 13 months, the longest stint of his career as a district police chief. This, notably, coincided with the second wave of the Covid pandemic, when transfers had become more infrequent in general.
The trend was not to last. On 26 June 2022, Chaudhury was posted as the SSP of Taj Nagri Agra, and approximately five months later, he was assigned the position of commandant, 11th Battalion, PAC, Sitapur.
His 17th transfer occurred on March 12, 2023, moving him from PAC Sitapur to Bareilly as SSP.
However, his tenure was cut short on 30 July, the same day as the lathicharge incident in Bareilley, when he was posted to PAC Lucknow.
‘Complaint from BJP unit led to Bareilly transfer’
Sources in BJP told ThePrint that Chaudhary’s latest transfer was initiated after local party leaders spoke to CM Adityanath.
When asked to confirm this, however, BJP national treasurer Rajesh Agarwal, a former state finance minister in the first Yogi government and ex-Bareilly Cantt MLA, refused to comment on either the police allegations against the kanwariyas or the transfer of SSP Chaudhary.
Instead, he said: “Bareilly has been known for its communal harmony and I appeal to the majority and minority communities to maintain calm and peace because if such incidents take place, the poor won’t get food and children won’t get milk.”
Notably, the UP police have suspended the inspector and chowki in-charge of the Jogi Nawada area of Bareilly where the lathicharge took place, but officials maintain that Chaudhary’s transfer is unrelated to the incident.
Rakesh Singh, the inspector general of Bareilly Range, confirmed the suspension of the two officers and the initiation of an inquiry into the incident. When asked about the SSP’s transfer, however, he reiterated that it was not connected to the lathicharge
Meanwhile, highly placed sources in the UP police told ThePrint that Chaudhary has been trying for a central deputation.
“He has applied for a central deputation to the CBI but he is yet to be relieved by the UP government. His file is yet to be moved,” a police source told ThePrint.
This report will be updated as and when Chaudhary responds to ThePrint’s queries on this matter.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)
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