Lucknow (The Hawk): Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, has frequently praised the police for "cracking the whip and reining in offenders." The Uttar Pradesh Police has reportedly killed up to 168 listed offenders in gunfights, the majority of whom had financial rewards of between Rs 75,000 and Rs five lakh on their heads.
From a total of 22,234 criminals detained between March 20, 2017, and November 20, 2022, the police have detained 4,557 people in confrontations. According to Prashant Kumar, the Additional Director General of Police (ADG) (law and order) for Uttar Pradesh, 13 police officers were also killed during the exchange of gunfire, while 1,375 more were wounded.
He did, however, add that Uttar Pradesh Police adhered to Supreme Court directives when conducting encounters, adding that as of this writing, not even a single encounter conducted by the Police since 2017 has come under the court's scrutiny. In addition, he said that in the last five years, police shot and killed two criminals carrying financial prizes of Rs. 5 lakh, Rs. 2.5 lakh, Rs. 2 lakh, Rs. 1.5 lakh, Rs. 1 lakh, and Rs. 75,000, as well as other individuals carrying rewards of Rs. 75,000.
"The Uttar Pradesh Police began extensive operations against gang leaders and mafias in 2017 as part of its zero-tolerance approach to crime and offenders. In addition to the Special Task Force (STF), campaigns against gangsters are also being carried out by the District Police and the Commissionerate Police "Kumar said. According to Kumar, the notorious dacoit Uday Bhan Yadav, also known as Gauri Yadav, was murdered in a police shootout in Chitrakoot in 2021 after his reign of terror spread to the neighbouring state of Madhya Pradesh.
He had approximately 50 cases, largely involving dacoity and attempted murder, and a Rs. 5 lakh reward from Uttar Pradesh. In an altercation with the police in 2018, another criminal named Balraj Bhati was also killed. He had a Rs 2.5 lakh reward on his head and had been charged in at least 20 instances, most of which involved murder, extortion, and attempted murder in the state of Uttar Pradesh. According to the UP ADG, a maximum of 64 criminals were put to death in the Meerut zone, which also had the most arrests among the eight police zones (6,494). "Criminals who attempt to interact with the police were all dealt with harshly. The mafias and criminals who attacked police officers on purpose have been dealt with harshly by the Uttar Pradesh Police "Added he. The officer added that after booking offenders under the Goonda Act, police also imposed the Gangsters Act on them, took their property, and executed more than 50,000 criminals who operated extortion rings.
(Inputs from Agencies)