Encounters to continue in state, says Yogi Adityanath

Lucknow: Ignoring the notices served to his government by the National Human Rights Commission, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, on Thursday, announced that his government would continue with police encounters against criminals.

Speaking in the Vidhan Parishad, he said that the opposition was patronizing and sympathetic towards criminals and anti-social elements. He said that over 40 dreaded criminals had been gunned down in 1200 encounters in the state.

Referring to the Vidhan Parishad Chairman’s directive to recommend a CBI inquiry into three encounters, the chief minister said, “It is unfortunate that some people are showing sympathy toward criminals. This is dangerous for democracy. The Noida incident which took place on February 3, in which Jitendra Yadav was hit by a bullet, was not a police encounter, and police does not count it as an encounter. Even the person affected had endorsed it”.

The chief minister urged the chairman to consider the questions raised by Devendra Pratap Singh, who had earlier questioned the propriety of giving directives regarding CBI probes.

Leader of Opposition in the Vidhan Parishad,  Ahmed Hasan (SP), however,  said that the chairman  had already directed the government to get a CBI probe conducted. “Now it can either recommend a CBI probe or may not do so. What is the relevance of the objection?” he asked.

Chairman Ramesh Yadav said he would reserve his decision on the question of propriety raised by Mr Singh.