A man carrying a bounty of ₹12,000 was killed in a police shoot-out in Muzaffarnagar on Sunday, taking the total number of encounter killings under the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh to 16.
This comes even as the State government has empowered police officials to announce increased cash rewards to personnel for arresting criminals.
The amounts were revised to “keep the morale of the police personnel high” and help in the quick arrest of criminals, said Arvind Kumar, Principal Secretary, Home Department, which is under the control of Adityanath.
On Sunday, the police gunned down one Janu, alias Jan Mohammad, of Baghpat during a vehicle checking operation in the Khatauli area of Muzaffarnagar district.
According to a police spokesperson, Jan Mohammad and an aide fired at the police when they were confronted by the officers.
“One criminal died of bullet wounds, while the other managed to escape,” the spokesperson said.
Constables Deepak Kumar and Sohan sustained bullet injuries in the encounter and were admitted to hospital.
The police recovered a car. A 315 bore country pistol with eight live cartridges, a 32 bore pistol and six live cartridges were also recovered.
According to the police, the accused had several cases of murder, loot and attempt to murder and under the Arms Act pending against him in Meerut, Baghpat and Muzaffarnagar districts.
Of the 16 persons killed in police encounters, the majority 11 were gunned down in western Uttar Pradesh, not far from the national capital.
The highest number of killings was recorded in Shamli (4), followed by Muzaffarnagar (3) and Saharanpur (2). One each were killed in Mathura and Hapur.
In eastern Uttar Pradesh’s Azamgarh district, three persons have been killed, followed by one each in Lucknow and Chitrakoot.
‘Zero tolerance’
BJP leaders have publicised the encounters as Mr. Adityanath government’s no-compromise policy on improving the law and order situation.
“There is no place for crime and criminals under the Yogi government,” Cabinet Minister Shrikant Sharma said. Since March 20, 84 alleged criminals have been injured in police encounters.
Additional Director-General of Police (Law and Order) Anand Kumar said the encounters would continue.
