Akhilesh Yadav flags fake encounters in UP targeting PDA

Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav launched a scathing attack on the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh over the law and order situation, citing fake encounters, and rising crimes against women.

In a press conference here on Tuesday, Akhilesh Yadav said that fake encounters have become a “sensitive issue” in the state with people from the PDA (backward classes, Dalits, and minorities) being the main target.

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In a democracy, he said the rule of law should prevail, not might is right. But these encounters are creating an atmosphere of fear in society.

Referring to the rising crimes against women, Akhilesh Yadav cited NCRB data and asked, “If encounters are reducing crimes, why are crimes against women and children increasing?”

He also mentioned the Hathras and Ghazipur incidents and alleged that police mistreated SP workers who went to support the victim families.

The SP president said, “The policemen involved in fake encounters should consider how the government is using them for its own benefit. They are turning them from officers into criminals. In fake encounters, the police become aware of their illegal activities. Many police officers who carry out such fake encounters even become mentally ill. They kill others in an instant and die slowly themselves.”

Raising the issue of the 2021 Jaunpur Pujari Yadav encounter, the SP chief said, “When police are implicated in fake encounters, the BJP government turns a blind eye. When police officers are jailed, their families suffer social humiliation. The public then engages in social encounters.”

He said through fake encounters, the BJP aims to create psychological pressure on the common people. Fake encounters do not improve law and order, but rather worsen it. They fuel police corruption.

The BJP has established an entire criminal network through fake encounters. We see you at various stages. To justify this, some lawyers fabricate the Kanpuriya story and then blackmail the officials and the government.

Akhilesh Yadav also raked up the rise in petroleum prices and claimed that it will automatically give rise to inflation.