Law & order situation spiralling out of control: Why UP is a fit case for imposition of President’s Rule

On Friday, #President’sRuleInUP was trending at the top on Twitter. The news about the killing of kidnapped lab technician in Kanpur Sanjit Yadav started the trend and by evening it picked up when the news came about kidnapping of a 6-year grandson of a bidi trader in Gonda. The opposition parties demanded imposition of President’s Rule in the state as recent incidents of crime are a clear reflection on Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s inability to control the same.

What has happened in the recent past in UP is testimony of the breakdown in law and order and failure of the police to control crime. The emergence of Vikas Dubey could be the manifestation of criminal-political nexus but the day Dubey had killed 8 policemen in Bikaru village of Kanpur, four persons were killed in Allahabad while a daughter-father duo were killed just a day before the girl's marriage – which went un-noticed.

But what happened in Kanpur speaks volumes about the inaptness of the police. The lab technician, Sanjit Yadav, was kidnapped on June 22 in Kanpur and was killed within a week even after getting Rs 30 lakh as ransom. What is more shameful is that the abductors managed to flee despite the police having laid a net to catch them.

This successful kidnapping probably prompted a group of not so professional criminals to carry out kidnapping of six-year old grandson of a Bidi trader in Gonda. The child was lucky as the police was able to trace the kidnappers and arrested them, with the boy being handed over to his parents.

In the recent past, the police have lost its sheen which is reflected in the way a police party was beaten up early this week when it had gone to arrest a criminal in a village in Aligarh. The incident is reminiscent of Bikaru village of Kanpur. The only difference is that in Aligarh, the policemen took to their heels and were able to save their lives.

To put its misdeeds under wraps, the trigger happy police carried out a series of encounters,killing a wanted criminal yesterday and before that around half a dozen wanted criminals were arrested after ‘encounters’.

Uttar Pradesh has always been the crime capital of India. According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, in 2018, the state topped the country in crimes against women (59,445 crimes) — a 7 per cent increase from 2017. It also recorded the highest number of gang rapes and second highest number of rapes (4,323 cases) in the country. Dowry deaths, crimes against children, crimes against senior citizens, all recorded an increase from 2017. 131 elderly people were murdered in 2018, compared to 129 killed in 2017. The state ranked highest in reported murders, 4,324 cases in 2017.

But talk to officials in the UP Government and ministers and they say ‘Goonda Raj’ is over. They blame the previous Samajwadi Party government for patronizing goondas and claimed that Yogi Adityanath is able to break the backbone of goondas. A common perception is that during SP regime, goonda activities increased because Muslims and Yadavs startedcalling the shots.

People believe that during BSP rule, Mayawati was able to control crime better because she does not derive political power from any segment of the society which is `notorious’. In case of BJP, the Jats and Thakurs – two big political arms of the ruling party – are known to have links with criminal gangs.

This is reflected in the way BJP leaders welcomed a man who had killed a police inspector last year in Bulandshahr. The man was a jat and the party was not ready to antagonize this dominant caste in western UP. So, BJP’s mission to control crime is warped in political likes and dislikes. If the criminal is a Muslim, go hard against him. And if he is Thakur, Brahmin or Jat, find a way out to save him. This is more dangerous for the state. Thus, it is a fit case to impose President’s rule.

The media is not ready to present a clear picture because of the arm twisting tactics of the Yogi Government. Any anti-government news could bring punishments in the form of advertisement cuts or lodging of FIRs. Thus, what is happening at the ground does not find reflection in news –both in print and electronic.

It would indeed be prudent to bring UP under President’s Rule.