The Uttar Pradesh Police has compiled a list of 61 mafias and also released a list of 27 ‘most wanted’ criminals as part of their crackdown against crime in the state. Determined to liquidate UP’s mafia gangs and criminals with deep connections in politics, police, and administration, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is putting the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act 1986 to best use. Why then should the government’s actions be viewed as anything other than one that seeks to demolish the mafia raj?
Former Samajwadi Party MP Atiq Ahmed, who had a tainted past with numerous cases of murder, extortion and kidnapping, was only one among many who bore the brunt of the government using the 1986 law, which was introduced by then-CM Vir Bahadur Singh of Congress who, like Adityanath, hailed from Gorakhpur. The government demolished and seized property worth several hundred crores belonging to Atiq under the Gangsters Act before he and his brother Ashraf were killed in police custody last week.
Ironically, criminal gangs and mafia ring leaders in UP seem to be following the secular principles enshrined in the Constitution to the tee. Out of the 27 most wanted criminals in UP, 20 are Hindus (going by their names). This alone should nail the canard that the Adityanath government in UP is targeting Muslims in the name of anti-mafia actions.
According to Prashant Kumar, Additional Director General of Police (Law & Order), his department has decided to deal with the offenders strictly. Little doubt that this ‘free hand’ and an attitude of ‘zero tolerance’ for crime have strengthened the hands of the police force. It would be wrong to project this power as ‘police brutality’. According to a media report quoting the UP Police, 183 people accused in criminal cases have been killed in over 10,900 encounters since the Adityanath government first came to power in 2017. In these encounters, 13 police personnel have also died and 1,443 have been injured. So it would not only be wrong but also a travesty of truth to paint UP as ‘police raj’ replacing ‘goonda raj’.
Also read: Who benefits from the killing of Atiq? Upcoming dons, politicians
Action matters and should be supported
The state’s efforts to restore law and order and break the back of mafia gangs have two important fallouts. First, UP has earned compliments from the central government with both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah commending CM Adityanath for his actions against criminals and criminal gangs. Second, as seen during the UP Global Investors’ Summit, the state reportedly signed 18,643 Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) worth Rs 33.5 lakh crore. If these deals mature to their fullest extent, UP could probably provide about ten million jobs and emerge as the largest contributor to make India a Rs 5 trillion economy.
UP with about 16,000 km of railway track and large portions of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) and Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) connecting Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) in the West and the Haldia Port in the East becomes the connecting point of the West-East inland trade corridor, which passes through the industrial areas close to Delhi. This provides an interesting bridge between the political and business capitals of the country. With such a large commercial network and business potential, UP needs to be a centre of attraction for investors and not a state overrun by criminals and mafia gangs.
According to a report by Confesercenti, which represents around 2,70,000 Italian business establishments, commercial firms are subjected to 1,300 crimes a day or 50 every hour, nearly one every minute by the organised and uncontrolled mafia, thus making organised crime the biggest business in Italy generating an annual turnover of €140 billion (over $204 billion). The business association has termed mafia control a “national emergency.” The modus operandi in Italy is that the mafia would support political parties and individual candidates assume office and then extract their pound of flesh through coercion and threats. The heavy crackdown on the Italian mafia resulted in the State seizing 351 companies and 651 properties in 2019. The crime pattern in UP sounds similar to that of Italy, and likely to produce the same results, weakening trade commerce and business.
Replying to the Samajwadi Party’s criticism of targeting people in the name of anti-mafia actions, CM Adityanath has vowed to end the mafia raj and restore law and order in the state – “Mitti me mila denge (We will destroy the mafias).” It is not only in the interest of business and national security but also the opposition parties that Adityanath’s efforts in cleaning the state of criminals and mafia is supported.
Seshadri Chari is the former editor of ‘Organiser’. He tweets @seshadrichari. Views are personal.
(Edited by Prashant)