What stops Yogi Sarkar from ordering a CBI probe into encounters?

Why is the Yogi Government shying away from holding a CBI probe into the recent spate of encounters by Uttar Pradesh Police, which it claims has helped in controlling crime and restoring law and order in the state? If the people killed are genuinely criminals who were carrying a prize on their head, the Government should not blink an eyelid before accepting the directive of the Chairman of the Legislative Council to opt for a CBI probe into the encounters.

During the proceedings of the Upper House, Chairman of the Legislative Council Ramesh Yadav directed the government to conduct a probe into an alleged 'encounter’ in Gautam Budh Nagar (Noida), in which gym trainer Jitendra Yadav was critically injured while two criminals were killed in separate encounters. The Opposition said that these encounters were fake and carried out to give an impression that UP Police is tough on criminals.

Yadav directed the government to conduct a CBI probe into the encounters of Jitendra at Noida, along with that of Sumit Gujjar aka Dumber and Shiv Kumar Yadav also at Noida. “The Government should hand over the case to the CBI,” he said, in a terse message.

A senior minister Mahendra Singh said that CBI probe is not required as Uttar Pradesh Government has already ordered a magisterial probe. If something is wrong in these encounters it will come to light in these probes. “In this scenario CBI probe is not required,” the minister told this reporter.

Incidentally, the so-called encounter of the gym instructor in Noida created a storm. A trained inspector was allegedly heard saying that he would carry out the encounter so that he can get out-of-turn promotion. “Is this the way police work in Yogi raj. If an inspector says that he will kill people for promotion it needs to be probed,” said Ahmed Hasan, leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council. Ahmad, who himself was an IPS officer, before he joined politics said that Government should itself offer CBI probe so that it can come out clean.

The NHRC has also issued an order asking Yogi Government to furnish details about the Noida encounter.

There is a spate of encounters in UP in the last few months. The police claim that roughly 1,200 encounters took place (till February 10) in which 38 listed criminals and killed and 280 others injured. However, four men in khakhi lost their lives and over 250 sustained injuries in these encounters.

The encounters are not new in UP. Even the earlier regimes of Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati have seen encounters with 431 and 261 respectively encounters carried out during their tenures as CM. In fact, Mulayam rule saw 201 staged shootouts in 2006 alone.

Details of Encounters:

• Total encounters till January 31, 2018: 1,142
• Criminals killed: 34
• Criminals arrested: 2,744
• Criminals injured: 265
• Cops injured: 247
• Cops martyred: 4

Zone-wise breakup:

• Meerut 449
• Agra 210
• Bareilly 196
• Kanpur 91
• Varanasi 73
• Allahabad 54
• Lucknow 38
• Gorakhpur 31
• Total property worth over Rs 146 crore confiscated