UP Encounter Data: A shocking figure has come to the fore amidst the questions arising regarding the encounter culture in Uttar Pradesh. In which it has been told that since 2017 till now, a total of 186 encounters have taken place in the state under Yogi Raj. That is, every 15 days the police killed a criminal in an encounter. Earlier, whenever there was an encounter of a criminal in UP, such shocking figures came to the fore. In these, under Operation Langda, the UP police also shot several criminals in the leg, whose number is quite high.
Firing on more than 30 criminals every 15 days
A report has been issued by Indian Express after examining the police records, in which all these types of figures have come to the fore. According to this report, since March 2017, when Yogi Adityanath took over and till date, there have been 186 encounters in the state, which translates to one criminal being gunned down by the police every 15 days. Now if we look at the figure of miscreants who got injured by bullet in the leg or other part of the body, then it is 5,046. That is, every 15 days more than 30 alleged criminals are shot and injured.
UP’s crime graph has come down
Express report states that in the list of 186 criminals killed in police encounters, 96 criminals had murder cases registered against them, out of which two Cases like molestation, gangrape and POCSO were registered. According to police officials, between 2016 and 2022, there has been a rapid decline in the crime graph in the state. According to official data, there has been an 82% drop in dacoity and a 37% drop in murder. However, there are very few people who consider the encounter as the reason.
Uttar Pradesh’s Special DG (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar told The Indian Express that “Police encounter has never been a part of our strategy to control heinous crimes or rein in vicious criminals."
Questions not raised in the investigation
It has been told in this report that most of the encounter cases are such, in which no questions were asked or there was no dispute. Every encounter in which death takes place, it is necessary to conduct a magisterial inquiry. As per the records, 161 encounters were settled without any objection. While the investigation is pending in the remaining 25. That is, no questions of any kind arose in this. In a magisterial inquiry, the magistrate is required to record the statement of the policemen involved in the action and other witnesses and submit a report with his findings.
Maximum encounters in Meerut zone
According to the Express report, encounter data shows that nearly a third or 65 of these criminals were nabbed by the police in the districts falling under the Meerut zone. Shot and he died. There were 20 and 14 encounters in Varanasi and Agra zones. Meerut zone topped even in the case of Operation Langda. A total of 5,046 criminals were shot in the legs under it, in which 1,752 criminals were shot injured in Meerut zone.
In the last 6 years, many policemen also died during the encounter or while catching the criminals. According to the data, from March 2017 to April 2023, 13 policemen were killed in the state. And 1,443 were injured.