Supporting Yogi Adityanath on the encounter of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed’s son Asad, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday said that if the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister wants to end the mafia raj, then there should be no question of caste and religion. It should not happen. Criminals and terrorists have no caste or religion, he said, adding that those who suspect such police action can always approach the courts for remedial measures. According to the UP police, both Asad and his aide Ghulam are accused of killing Umesh Pal, a key witness in the 2005 murder of then BSP MLA Raju Pal, on February 24, after he opened fire on a Special Task Force team. was shot. He was gheraoed in Jhansi on Thursday.
Umesh Pal’s murder and the brazen manner in which it was carried out cast a shadow over Adityanath’s claim that law and order in UP had improved significantly under the Bharatiya Janata Party’s rule, which led him to take oath in the assembly there. Lee that he will erase. Organized criminal group. Raut told reporters, “Yogi ji (Adityanath) has said from the very beginning that he will end the mafia raj in Uttar Pradesh. If the chief minister has said that he wants to end the mafia raj, then there is no difference between caste and religion.” There should be no question.” The Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP said, “Criminals and terrorists have no religion or caste. But if someone is killing constitutionally or brutally, the doors of the courts are open.”
However, he also took a jibe at the people of Uttar Pradesh as well as the Adityanath government, claiming those in power have a mafia raj in the northern state. He said, “The (UP) CM has announced that he will end mafia raj. If there is actually mafia raj in Uttar Pradesh and if the police have to take up arms for that, then it is a question on that government.” Umesh Pal, a key witness in the 2005 murder case of then BSP MLA Raju Pal, and his two police security guards were shot dead on February 24 this year outside his house in Prayagraj’s Dhoomanganj area. On February 25, a case was registered against Atiq Ahmed, his brother Ashraf, sons Asad, Ghulam and others on the basis of a complaint by Umesh Pal’s wife Jaya Pal.
Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party have demanded an inquiry into Thursday’s encounter. Incidentally, on Friday, the UP police said they have killed 183 alleged criminals in encounters in the six years of Yogi Adityanath’s government, including Asad. According to UP Police data, there have been over 10,900 police encounters in the state since March 2017, when Adityanath first took over as the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. In these encounters, 23,300 alleged criminals were arrested and 5,046 were injured, while 13 policemen were killed and 1,443 were injured.