No organised criminal out of jail, claims Yogi Adityanath

Yogi Adityanath

Lucknow: Asserting that there was no organised criminal roaming freely in Uttar Pradesh, Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said such elements were either sent to jail or eliminated in police action.

"There is no organised criminal in the state who is roaming freely outside jail. Such criminals have either been arrested and sent to jail or killed in action when police opened fire in self-defence," he said at a Police Smriti Diwas parade here. The CM said the government had adopted a "zero tolerance policy" against criminals. Giving figures, Adityanath said after he assumed office in 2017, 96 criminals were killed in police action in different districts while 1,631 were injured. Besides, 10,252 criminals, including 6,759 carrying reward, were arrested, he claimed.

"The police action has instilled a sense of security among women and traders," he said, adding 23,773 persons were arrested under the stringent Gangsters' Act and their properties worth over Rs 200 crore were seized. "Due to fear in the minds of criminals, 16,895 of them got their bail cancelled and surrendered in courts," he said. Police keep track of those booked under the Gangsters' Act and may issue summons to them for attendance at the police station for questioning even if no fresh case has been lodged against them.

The act also permits police to seek remand of an accused for a maximum of 60 days as compared with a maximum 14-day remand under normal circumstances. Noting that there was no "terrorist activity" in his regime, the CM said the special task force of the state police coordinated with other agencies and arrested and busted their modules. The CM also met family members of the policemen who lost their lives in the line of duty.

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