Following the murder of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has made a strange statement on the law and order situation of the state.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who is facing severe criticism on the law and order situation, has said that no mafia or criminal can threaten industrialists, spread terror anymore in Uttar Pradesh.
Although he has been making such statements continuously since becoming the Chief Minister, but now his statement is special because his statement has come when Atiq and Ashraf were shot dead in police custody and in front of TV cameras.
Chief Minister Yogi has reportedly been tough against criminals since coming to power in the state.
It is said that the Yogi government has adopted the policy of ‘thok do’ and under this policy encounters of criminals have been done.
The number of encounters in the state is also very high. Advocate Vishal Tiwari’s petition filed in the Supreme Court after Atiq Ahmed’s killing also sought an inquiry into the ‘183 encounters in Uttar Pradesh since 2017’.
However, while addressing a function to sign an MoU to set up textile parks in Lucknow and Hardoi districts, Yogi said, ‘Now, a professional criminal or mafia cannot threaten an industrialist over phone.’
The Chief Minister said, ‘Uttar Pradesh was notorious for riots. People used to get scared just by the name of many districts. There is no need to be afraid now”.
Taking a jibe at the previous Akhilesh Yadav-led government, Yogi said that between 2012 and 2017, more than 700 riots took place in the state. But between 2017 and 2023 there was not a single riot in UP, no curfew was imposed. That situation did not arise. This is the most favorable opportunity to invest and set up industry.
Yogi Adityanath said that Uttar Pradesh now ‘guarantees effective law and order’.
The Samajwadi Party said, ‘Crime has reached its peak in UP and the morale of the criminals is high. When someone can be killed openly despite being surrounded by security, then the condition of the common public can be imagined. An atmosphere of fear is being created among the public. It seems that some people are deliberately creating such an atmosphere.
Mayawati had said, “It would be better if the Honorable Supreme Court itself takes cognizance of this very serious and very worrying incident discussed all over the country. Anyway, instead of ‘rule of law by law’ in Uttar Pradesh, now How appropriate is it to become an encounter state? A matter to think about.
Asaduddin Owaisi had said, ‘Atiq and his brother were in police custody. They had handcuffed. JSR slogans were also raised. The killing of both is the failure of Yogi’s law and order system. Those celebrating encounter raj are also responsible for this murder”.
He further said that in a society where murderers are heroes, what is the use of the court and justice system in that society?
Amid criticism, the state government has ordered a high-level inquiry into the killings. The UP Police has also constituted a three-member Special Investigation Team to probe the incident. The matter has also reached the Supreme Court.
