At least 50 criminals surrendered within 15 days of the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government returning to power in Uttar Pradesh on 10th March 2022. Interestingly, many criminals walked in to the police stations holding placards with a message written on them – ‘I am surrendering, please don’t encounter.’ The surrender of miscreants and tainted criminals is the new normal in Uttar Pradesh.
It all started with the surrender of absconding miscreant Gautam Singh who is accused of kidnapping and extortion. He surrendered at Chhapia police station in Gonda district on March 15. Within three days, 23 more criminals surrendered to the Chilkana police station in Saharanpur. In western Uttar Pradesh alone, four liquor smugglers surrendered before the Deoband police with an affidavit stating that they would not commit the crime again.
After this, the surrender process started in the neighboring Shamli district. Here, 18 accused of cow slaughter surrendered themselves at Thana Bhawan and Garhipukhata police stations. Within a few days, another wanted criminal, Himanshu alias Honey surrendered at Sirsaganj police station in Firozabad. At the time of surrender, he was holding a placard, pleading to the police not to shoot him.
ADG, Law and Order, Prashant Kumar said that 50 criminals have not only surrendered but they have resolved to give up the crime. He said that during this time, two criminals were killed in the encounter and 10 others have been arrested. He said action is being taken to create fear among criminals in every nook and corner of the state through the scheme to improve law and order. Zero tolerance towards crime is not only about effective action on the mafia, but also the fresh vigil and intensive patrolling by UP-112.
It is notable that the ‘UP 112’ is an integrated emergency service for police, fire tenders and ambulances that replaced separate services — 100, 101, and 102 helplines – in 2019. There have been no communal riots in the state since 2017.
