In a sustained campaign against gangsters and wanted criminals, the Uttar Pradesh Police have gunned down at least one listed criminal every 13th day, in an encounter in the state in the past six year.
The state police have eliminated 178 dreaded criminals in the state during the past six years of Yogi Adityanath regime. Most of these deceased criminals were carrying cash rewards on their head ranging from Rs 75,000 to Rs 5 lakh.
Speaking to media persons here on Monday, ADG, Law and Order, Prashant Kumar, claimed that during the exchange of fire, as many as 15 cops also laid their life while another 1,424 policemen suffered bullet injuries.
According to records, 28 criminals were eliminated in police encounters in 2017 while 41 in 2018, 34 in 2019 and 26 each in 2020 and 2021, while 14 were eliminated in 2022. This year, nine have been eliminated in police encounters thus far.
Two criminals carrying cash reward of Rs 5 lakh each, four carrying reward of Rs 2.5 lakh, two carrying reward of Rs 2 lakh, six with Rs 1.5 lakh and 27 carrying Rs 1 lakh cash reward along with several others carrying rewards of Rs 75,000 were gunned down by the police in the last six years.
In the encounters, the state police have arrested 23,069 criminals between March 20, 2017 and March 6, 2023, in which 4,911 received injuries.
The ADG said that maximum number of criminals was killed in Varanasi zone (19) while Meerut zone registered maximum arrests of 5,987 criminals.
Kumar stressed that UP Police followed the Supreme Court guidelines in encounters and not even a single encounter done by the police since 2017 has come under the apex court’s scanner.
The police also slapped the Gangsters Act, seized properties of criminals and exterminated over 50,000 criminals, who ran extortion rackets, after booking them under the Goonda Act.