AL Banerjee is the new UP police chief

The Uttar Pradesh government on Friday named AL Banerjee as the new director general of police.

Banerjee succeeds Rizwan Ahmad, who retired Friday. The Samajwadi Party government refused to grant Ahmad an extension.

Banerjee, a 1979 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, now heads the vigilance department. He is widely seen as an upright officer who keeps a low profile.

Also in the contention for the top police post were A.K. Gupta and Ranjan Dwivedi.

Banerjee is the fourth police chief of Uttar Pradesh in the last two years of Samajwadi Party rule.

Law and order has been a major bane for the Akhilesh Yadav government.