Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on September 20 warned that anyone who harasses or molests a woman in the state would be “signing his own death sentence”, while addressing the appointment ceremony of 912 newly selected Uttar Pradesh Police personnel at Lucknow’s Lok Bhavan.
He linked the warning to what he described as an improvement in women’s safety and the state’s wider law-and-order situation. Adityanath also claimed that Uttar Pradesh no longer witnesses the communal riots and prolonged curfews he associated with the period before 2017, and said policing had undergone major recruitment and infrastructure reforms.
The appointment ceremony was organised for candidates selected through the Uttar Pradesh Police Recruitment and Promotion Board’s Clerical Cadre Direct Recruitment-2023, with 173 women among the 912 recruits.
UP DGP Rajeev Krishna said their training would begin on October 6 and added that direct recruitment for around 35,000 posts and promotions for 9,457 posts were underway.
The chief minister’s remarks come as his government steps up recruitment messaging, including a stated target of providing government jobs to one lakh young people over the next six months.
Warning From The CM
Addressing the newly selected police personnel, Adityanath said women should be able to move through public spaces without fear of harassment. “Today, no one can dare to molest a daughter. If someone does, he knows the consequences.
If he does not, I think he is signing his own death sentence,” he said, according to reports of the speech. The remark was made in the context of policing and deterrence; it did not announce a new law imposing the death penalty for molestation or harassment.
The chief minister also used the event to describe what he called a transformation in Uttar Pradesh’s law-and-order environment. He said the state no longer witnesses riots and remarked that police sometimes conduct riot mock drills so people do not forget how such situations are handled.
Adityanath contrasted this with his description of the period before 2017, alleging that communal clashes, curfews and organised crime had previously weakened public confidence in the administration.
These are the chief minister’s characterisations of the state’s past and present, rather than independent findings. At the same event, he claimed police recruitment had become more transparent and merit-based, alleging that earlier systems were affected by recommendations, financial transactions and paper leaks.
Police Expansion And Data
The event centred on the appointment of 912 personnel selected for Police Sub-Inspector (Confidential), Assistant Sub-Inspector (Clerk) and Assistant Sub-Inspector (Accounts) posts. The Uttar Pradesh government described the selection process as fair and transparent, while its official release confirmed that the appointment letters were distributed on September 20 at Lok Bhavan.
According to media reports, citing officials at the programme, 173 of those appointed were women. DGP Rajeev Krishna said training would begin on October 6, with six months of institutional training followed by three months of practical training.
He also said recruitment for approximately 35,000 posts and promotion for 9,457 posts were in progress. Adityanath further highlighted expanded police training capacity, forensic facilities, cyber police stations and commissionerate policing.
Recent NCRB 2024 data provides additional context: Uttar Pradesh recorded 66,398 registered crimes against women, the highest absolute number among states, although its rate of 58 cases per lakh women was below the national rate of 64.6.
The figures also need to be read carefully because NCRB statistics capture registered cases and do not necessarily reflect every incident that occurs or goes unreported. Uttar Pradesh has dedicated mechanisms such as the Women and Child Security Organisation and Women Power Line 1090 for complaints involving harassment and other offences against women.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
A woman’s ability to live, travel, study and work without fear depends not only on strong warnings but on a policing and justice system that responds quickly, treats complaints seriously and ensures that offenders face lawful consequences.
Adityanath’s remarks put deterrence at the centre of his message, while the appointment of new police personnel and the recruitment figures cited by the government point to the importance of building adequate policing capacity. At the same time, public safety should ultimately be measured through transparent data, effective investigation, due process and the experience of people who approach the police not only through political claims about how the state has changed.
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