Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath often talks about encounter figures to claim how the crime rate in the state is dipping. Now, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken cognizance of the issue and has sought a detailed report from the UP government within six weeks.
The NHRC notice quoted official data that 433 encounters took place in six months, i.e. till October 5, 2017, when the current dispensation came to power. In these encounters, 19 criminals were killed, while 89 were declared injured. Apart from this, a police officer also died, while 98 officers were injured.
The notice also said the state government is often seen presenting these encounters as achievements and improvement towards law and order. “Even if the law and order situation is grave, the state cannot resort to such mechanism, which may result in the extra-judicial killings of the alleged criminals,” the NHRC statement read.
The human rights panel also said the reported statement of the CM was equivalent to giving police and other security forces a free hand in dealing with criminals, which could even lead to abuse of power.
The NHRC stated that it’s not good for a civilised society to develop an atmosphere of fear, emerging out of certain policies adopted by the state, which may result in violation of their right to life and equality before law.
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