The year 2023 has proved to be a very important year on the law and order front in Uttar Pradesh with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath taking a tough stand against criminals.

The Chief Minister, dubbed as “Bulldozer Baba” for acting against illegal properties acquired by criminals and their family members, has a zero tolerance policy for illegal activities.

According to a senior police officer, 2023 will be known for mafia-free Uttar Pradesh. The Yogi government’s policy of zero tolerance against crime and criminals has destroyed the mafia empires, which were synonymous with terror in the state for decades. Assets of gangsters and mafias , worth more than Rs 5775 crore have also been seized so far in the state.

The government is determined to make UP, a state free from mafia, crime and fear. All the big and small mafia dons and their criminal empires have been completely destroyed. The elements involved in extorting businessmen and molesting women in the state, have either been put behind bars or have been allegedly killed in police encounters.

Apart from this, to strengthen the UP Police, the recruitment process of more than 60,000 constables has also been started this month with 3 years relaxation in upper age limit.

UP’s most notorious mafia Mukhtar Ansari, who was synonymous with terror for decades, received the biggest setback this year. Mafia Mukhtar has been sentenced in 4 cases — one after the other — in 2023, which also includes the maximum punishment of life imprisonment. The mafia’s economic empire of more than Rs 604 crore has also been completely destroyed.

Apart from this, the Atiq gang of Prayagraj has also been completely destroyed after the killing of Atiq Amhed and his brother Ashraf on April 15, along with the alleged encounter of Atiq’s son . Several of Atiq- Ashraf’s family members were on the run, and their illegal properties have been confiscated.

Freeing the illegal encroachments by Atiq which was located in Prayagraj and Lucknow, houses are being built for the poor.

At the same time, big mafias like Vijay Mishra, Anupam Dubey, Sayeed Akhtar, Dharmendra, and Sanjay Singhla have been punished for their crimes through the law during the Yogi regime. Apart from the big mafia, swift action has also been taken against local goons and criminals.

Due to law and order maintenance, renowned companies of the country and the world are now coming to invest in UP and in the Global Investors Summit held in February this year, Uttar Pradesh so far has received investment proposals worth Rs 40 lakh crore.

The police officer said the latest data of NCRB has also confirmed the strengthened law and order situation in UP. The crime rate in UP is 171.6 per cent as compared to 258.1 per cent in the entire country. On the basis of cases registered, UP, the most populous state in the country, stands at 20th position compared to other states.

This shows that compared to many states, there has been a significant reduction in criminal incidents in Uttar Pradesh. Apart from this, UP is way ahead in meting out punishment for crimes related to women in comparison to other states.

The state government is also working on a war-footing to bring the Safe City project on the ground. Under the first phase of the Safe City project, as many as 21,968 cameras are being installed for integrating 17 municipal corporations and Gautam Buddha Nagar. Of these, 15,732 have been integrated with the control room. Due to complete CCTV surveillance of cities, the number of crimes has reduced and investigation also becomes faster.

Apart from this, in view of increasing number of cybercrimes, Uttar Pradesh will set up new cyber police stations in 57 districts.

Now, all 75 districts of the state will be equipped with cyber police stations .