A gangster was killed and nearly two dozen criminals were arrested by police in 15 encounters across different districts of Uttar Pradesh during the past two days, a police spokesperson said.
The encounters took place in Bulandshahr, Shamli, Kanpur, Saharanpur, Lucknow, Baghpat, Muzaffarnagar, Gorkahpur, Hapur and Meerut.
"As many as 24 wanted criminals were arrested and one gangster killed in 15 police encounters reported from 10 districts of the state over a span of 48 hours," the spokesperson said.
There have been about 950 encounters since Yogi Adityanath took over as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh in 2017. More than 200 people have been arrested, over 30 have been killed, reported NDTV.
A gangster called Inderpal, who carried a reward of Rs 25,000 on his head, was gunned down by the Special Task Force in an encounter in Naglakhepad jungle on 2 February. According to Superintendent of Police (STF) Rajiv Narain Singh, Inderpal was wanted in more than 30 cases of loot and murder in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
The police also claimed to have recovered country-made arms, ammunition, a motorcycle, and cars apart from cash which was robbed by the criminals. Maximum number of encounters were reported from Bulandshahr and Shamli, where four and six criminals were arrested respectively.
Three of those arrested in Bulandshahr carried a cash reward for Rs 20,000 each on their head. Two encounters took place in Kanpur.
On 2 February, two suspected criminals and as many policemen, including a station house officer, were injured in an encounter in Gorakhpur.
The incident took place when Maneesh Yadav and Manoj Yadav were escaping after threatening a village head, police said. Police said that a team was rushed to the spot after receiving a complaint from the victim.
In the encounter, a station house officer in Khorabar, Sudhir Kumar, and a sub-inspector from Jhangha, Sunil Kumar Singh, suffered minor injuries. The police have seized a 32 bore pistol, a 12 bore gun, bullets and the motorcycle on which they were escaping.
The criminals were injured in the gunfight. They were subsequently arrested and admitted to BRD Medical College. Police claimed that they have confessed to their involvement in the murder of businessman Dinesh Gupta of Nai Bazaar, Jhangha, in Gorakhpur on Sunday.
The Uttar Pradesh Police has intensified its crackdown on criminals after DGP OP Singh took charge last month.
Defending frequent encounters in the state, top police officers, including Director General of Police OP Singh, told NDTV that the police fires only in self-defence.
Encounters keep happening because we have to catch criminals. Encounters happen because we fire in self-defenceOP Singh, Director General of Police, UP, told NDTV
As NDTV reported, the National Human Rights commission, in November 2017, slapped a notice to the Uttar Pradesh police asking for a detailed report on killings in encounters.
"The NHRC has taken suo motu cognisance of media reports about the government of Uttar Pradesh allegedly endorsing killings in encounters by police, seeking improvement in the law and order situation in the state," the NHRC said in a statement.
Chief Minister Yogi Aditynath had vowed to take strict action against the criminals after his government faced criticism over a string of crimes in the state.
(With inputs from PTI and NDTV)
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