PM says law and order is good in UP, but killings and loot expose the jumla

While addressing a crowd after a ground-breaking ceremony in Lucknow, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday that law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh has improved and industrialists are now confident in investing money in this politically sensitive state. The statement brought a smile on the face of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who was sitting in the first row flanked by top corporate captains of India.

Is this statement is true reflection of the ground reality? Two incidents took the wind out of the sail of Prime Minister’s statement.

One, an owner of a restaurant was shot dead in Sultanpur, 120 km south-east of Lucknow, just a few hours after PM had made that ‘bold’ statement in Lucknow. And two, on Monday a motorcycle borne youth shot dead one man and injured two and decamped with a bag carrying over ₹6 lakh. This incident happened in a posh locality which is just 100 meters from Raj Bhawan and 500 meters from Chief Minister’s residence. No arrest has been made though the SSP has announced a cash reward of ₹50,000.

These two incidents are reflection of crime scenario in UP. Whatever the Prime Minister may say, the fact remains that there is no ebb in the crime rate in Uttar Pradesh. People are being killed with impunity. Despite the claims of the Uttar Pradesh police that they have killed more than 68 top criminals in encounters, there is no fear of the law in the state.

“The loot and killing of a person in a high security zone is a stinging slap on the face of police. A person riding a motorcycle, opens fire, kills one, injures two and simply escapes. This shows that criminals no longer fear police,” said MN Singh, the former IG. “Even thinking of committing a crime in high security zone speaks volumes about the confidence of that criminal,” added Singh.

Earlier this month, on July 6, a top criminal Munna Bajrangi was shot dead inside jail in Uttar Pradesh. The crime was committed by his co-prisoner Suresh Rathi. The government has moved Rathi out of Baghpat jail but no legal action so far been taken against him.

In such a situation, how can Prime Minister Modi can pat the back of Yogi for good performance. Is this really a good performance – it is anybody’s guess!