Police encounters are fake, policy not improving law & order: Akhilesh

Samajwadi party president Akhilesh Yadav launched a scathing attack on the ‘encounter policy’ of the Yogi Adityanath-led government. Yadav described the encounters, particularly those resulting in bullet injuries to the legs of suspects, as “fake” and asserted that they had not contributed to improving law and order in the state.

Speaking to reporters in Kannauj, Yadav said 18,000 encounters had taken place in Uttar Pradesh, resulting in around 200 fatalities.

He questioned the effectiveness of these measures, stating, “If encounters are truly improving law and order, then why is crime, especially against women, occurring daily in the state?”

He further referenced data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), and said that Uttar Pradesh had the highest number of reported rapes in the country. “These fake encounters need to be probed and they will be probed in future,” he said.

On being asked about arrest of party MLA Zahid Beg, he said the state government was targeting Muslims. “When individuals from these communities are involved, serious charges are levelled, leading to severe actions,” he said.

He took pot shots at the government over a smartphone distribution event in Ghaziabad, where beneficiaries reportedly had their phones confiscated shortly after receiving them.

Yadav questioned the integrity of the programme, asking, “Is there a connection between those giving out the phones and those taking them away?”

Yadav addressed his comments made on X, clarifying that neither he nor his colleagues had ever commented on any ‘sadhu, sant, or rishi-muni’. He emphasised that any remarks made were directed at the ‘mathadheesh’ chief minister.

“Saints and mahatmas are revered figures for us, but is there really any issue with referring to someone as mathadheesh? Our chief minister is indeed a mathadheesh,” he stated. Yadav further explained that he shared the remark because he found it appealing.

He said the one nation-one election plan was aimed at destroying the democracy and finishing the Election Commission of India.

He said the BJP government was undermining the commission by outsourcing booth-level officers, similar to other government departments.