UP police encounters are fake: Akhilesh Yadav

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, on Thursday, claimed that most police encounters in Uttar Pradesh were fake and that the government had misused the police for this.

Mr Yadav, while talking to reporters here, demanded that the Yogi government should provide a list of those killed in encounters to prove that they were all notorious criminals who carried a reward on their head.

He said that a compensation of Rs 50 lakhs should be given to the family of Narendra Gujjar, against whom a “fake cow slaughter case” was registered and he was tortured to death in police custody in Meerut.

“It is the duty of the government to see that everyone gets justice. Has the situation worsened to that extent where no one can even plead for justice? Will the BJP now deprive the people of their right to justice?” he asked.

Mr Akhilesh Yadav said that as many as 50 dreaded criminals had been killed in over 1,400 encounters in the past over one year in the state, while 3,435 history-sheeters were put behind bars following encounters.

The SP president also blamed the UP police for the unrest in Aligarh Muslim University. “If the government wanted, the situation would not have worsened there,” he stated.