Three persons were killed and an AK47 rifle was seized by the Uttar Pradesh police in separate encounters in a span of 24 hours in a major "crackdown" launched in the western region of the State against suspected criminals.
Half-a-dozen encounters took place in districts near the national capital.
The police also arrested seven persons.
While the Samajwadi Party led Opposition and social activists have termed the encounters taking place under the Yogi government as fake, the Chief Minister said in the Assembly that the encounters, which touched 48 on Sunday, will go on till the state is free of crime. He also said there were no fake encounters.
A book released by Mr. Adityanath to mark his first year in power, highlighted the encounters as one of his achievements. In his first year as CM, 45 persons have been killed, 366 injured and 3,316 arrested in police encounters.
Meanwhile, the NHRC has issued several notices to the State on the encounters.
Spree of encounters
In Noida, the police shot dead Shravan Chaudhary, a murder accused who carried a bounty of ₹50,000, after an "exchange of fire" early on Sunday. An AK-47 and a Single Barrel Breach Loading gun (looted by him) were recovered, police spokesperson Rahul Srivastava said.
In Saharanpur, police shot dead Ahsan, a resident of Shamli who carried a bounty of ₹25,000, after police teams intercepted his bike near Chilkana Road. According to police, they received information that two miscreants had stolen a bike and also looted the rider, Nawab Singh, of cash near Husainpur police station around midnight on Saturday. Mr. Nawab Singh was also allegedly shot at and received bullet injuries in the incident.
When the accused were being chased, they started firing at the police team near Mandi. “Police team also fired back,” Mr. Srivastava said, adding that Ahsan was injured and shifted to a hospital where he was declared dead. A Sub-Inspector, Sachin, was injured and was now stable, police said. Police recovered the looted bike and money, and a 9mm pistol from the accused.
In Ghaziabad, one Rahul sustained firearm injuries after a crackdown by the police near Sihanigate late on Saturday. He was arrested and a motorbike, illegal weapon and cartridges have been recovered from the accused.
In another encounter in the same district, Sonu — a murder accused carrying a bounty of ₹25,000 — was arrested from the Vijayanagar area. The accused and the SHO of the Vijayanagar police station suffered injuries in the incident, the police said.
In Muzaffarnagar, two accused and a Sub-Inspector received bullet injuries after an “exchange of fire” late on Saturday. The accused were asked to stop at a check-post in Budhana but they sped away.
Criminal cases
SI Shoveer Nagar, along with the two accused Rahees and Javed, were sent for medical treatment and are out of danger. While Rahees faces 10 criminal cases, Javed is accused in 6 cases, including murder and dacoity under the Arms Act. Two 315 bore country-made pistols and eight cartridges were recovered from the duo.
In Noida, Jitendra — carrying a bounty of ₹25000 and wanted in a case of roberry of ₹1 lakh in Delhi last year — was arrested after he suffered injuries in an alleged encounter with police in Dadri.
In a similar incident in Noida, two persons were arrested in Dankaur when police intercepted them after they had allegedly robbed a canter. The two received bullet injuries in an “exchange of fire,” police said, adding that the looted canter was recovered along with the weapons.
