Operation Langra: 3,300 ‘criminals’ shot in UP encounter

* August 8, Bahraich: Maniram, primarily needed in over 35 instances of dacoity and a reward of Rs 50,000, is shot within the leg in a police encounter. Police say he allegedly first fired on the group that had surrounded him.

* August 4, Gautam Buddh Nagar: Sachin Chauhan, accused of homicide in a police encounter, has been shot within the leg. Officials say that Chauhan opened hearth on a group of Noida Police who apprehended him.

* June 22, Bahraich: Rape accused Parashuram has been shot within the leg in the course of the police encounter. Police say that the encounter passed off after the accused escaped from custody.

It would not exist formally. But privately, some senior UP officers have a reputation for it: “Operation Langra (Lame)”.

Since March 2017, when the BJP got here to energy within the state, the UP police have shot and injured a minimum of 3,302 alleged criminals in 8,472 encounters, many with bullet wounds to their legs. Meanwhile, the loss of life toll in these encounters stands at 146.

Officially, senior cops deny that there’s any explicit technique for crippling criminals in encounters as a deterrent to others. And the police haven’t stored knowledge on what number of disabled folks have been left after being shot of their legs throughout these encounters. Instead, they state that 13 police personnel have been killed and 1,157 extra have been injured in these encounters, which led to the arrest of 18,225 criminals.

This concern is nice…

This is the brand new Uttar Pradesh…

Vikas will win, UP will win #BJP4UP pic.twitter.com/Dvu0VrxYsd

— BJP Uttar Pradesh (@BJP4UP) 3 August 2021

speaking to Indian ExpressUP Police ADG (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar mentioned the massive variety of injured in police encounters exhibits that killing criminals shouldn’t be the first motive of the police. He mentioned the first goal is to arrest the particular person.

“The UP authorities has a zero tolerance coverage in direction of crime and criminals. While on obligation, if somebody fires at us, we retaliate, and this can be a authorized energy given to the police. During this course of, collateral accidents and deaths can happen. Our folks have additionally been killed and injured. The backside line is that if somebody does one thing unlawful, the police react. However, our essential motive is to not kill the particular person however to make an arrest.”

“There is a prescribed procedure based on the Supreme Court guidelines on what to do if there is an encounter killing. Apart from this, there is a magisterial inquiry into every encounter. In court, the victims have every right to present their case. However, till date, no constitutional body has said anything repugnant against the UP police encounters,” the ADG mentioned.

And but, these encounter killings haven’t come underneath the radar.

In January 2019, the Supreme Court cited a number of such killings and mentioned they wanted to be “seriously considered”. Opposition events, too, have typically spoken out in opposition to these killings, describing them because the state authorities’s “thok do” (end them) coverage.

But, with the following state elections looming, officers in Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s authorities have listed these encounters as an achievement. On a number of events, Adityanath himself issued a warning saying that the police wouldn’t hesitate to kill criminals “if they do not change their ways”.

According to police knowledge, Meerut area in western UP tops the record of encounters (2,839), arrests (5,288), deaths (61) and injured (1,547). Next comes Agra, in the identical area, with 1,884 encounters, 4,878 arrests, 18 deaths – and 218 folks injured. Third on the record is Bareilly area, which has witnessed 1,173 encounters, 2,642 arrests, seven deaths – and 299 accidents.

Meerut zone additionally had the best variety of police personnel (435) injured, adopted by Bareilly (224) and Gorakhpur (104).

The Kanpur area recorded the best variety of police deaths – all eight gangsters on the record have been killed within the 2020 Bikru village encounter in the course of the police operation to nab Vikas Dubey. Dubey, who later surrendered in Madhya Pradesh, was killed in one other police encounter whereas being delivered to UP.