LUCKNOW, April 11 -- In a significant move to make Uttar Pradesh Police's digital surveillance system more accountable and legally balanced, DGP Rajeev Krishna has ordered immediate closure of monitoring on the Yaksh app of persons who were wrongly implicated, acquitted by courts, or are deceased. The directive is aimed at ensuring that innocent persons are not subjected to continued police scrutiny or digital profiling, officials said. According to the DGP, the backend of the Yaksh app currently contains records of nearly 12 lakh criminals, making it one of the largest digital offender repositories maintained by the UP Police. Police stations across the state are also generating criminal IDs for persons arrested under 21 categories of offences. However, during investigations and case reviews, instances have emerged where some individuals were wrongly named in FIRs or later received judicial relief. In such cases, the DGP said, continued monitoring should not unfairly stigmatise them. Under the revised protocol, surveillance will be discontinued in three key situations - death, false implication, and court acquittal. In case of death, the beat constable will collect documentary proof and submit it to the station house officer (SHO), who will verify the records and initiate closure on the app. Where investigation establishes that a person was wrongly named and has no criminal antecedents, the SHO will verify the background and recommend closure of monitoring. Similarly, if an accused has been acquitted, the relevant court order must be uploaded on the Yaksh app and police station records updated before surveillance is formally stopped. The order also gives the ADG Zone discretionary powers to order closure of monitoring in any other justified case. Officials said the move is particularly important in cases of mistaken identity, false implication arising out of local rivalry, and cases where people continue to remain under watch despite being cleared by courts. A standard operating procedure has also been laid down. Officials must access the concerned profile on the app dashboard, select the "Procedure of Closure" option, specify the reason - such as acquittal, death or false implication - and upload supporting documents, including court orders, death certificates or investigation findings. Closure will be effective only after the SHO records remarks and approves it. The DGP has also directed that criminal IDs should be generated only after completion of the test identification parade (TIP) in cases where legal identification of the accused is significant. Senior officers said the revised protocol seeks to strike a balance between robust offender surveillance and the protection of civil liberties. The move is expected to be welcomed by legal experts and rights advocates as a formal safeguard against wrongful continuation of police monitoring....