No mafia or criminal can threaten industrialists in Uttar Pradesh anymore, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said today, days after the shocking murders of gangster Atiq Ahmed and his brother prompted a wave of criticism over the state's law and order situation.
The Chief Minister was addressing an event to mark the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for setting up textile parks in Lucknow and Hardoi districts. The textile parks are being set up under the PM Mega Integrated Textiles and Apparel (PM Mitra) scheme.
"Now, a professional criminal or a mafia cannot threaten an industrialist over the phone," he said as the audience broke into a round of applause.
"Uttar Pradesh was notorious for riots. Just the names of many districts scared people. Now there is no need to be scared," the Chief Minister said.
Taking a swipe at the previous Akhilesh Yadav-led government, Mr Adityanath said the state witnessed more than 700 riots between 2012 and 2017. "But not a single riot broke out in UP between 2017 and 2023, no curfew was imposed. That situation did not arise. And this is the most conducive opportunity to invest and set up industries," he said.
Mr Adityanath said Uttar Pradesh now "guarantees effective law and order arrangements".
The Chief Minister's remarks came in the aftermath of the shocking murders of Atiq Ahmed and brother Ashraf outside a Prayagraj hospital Saturday night. The two accused in the February 24 Umesh Pal murder case had been brought to the hospital for a medical check-up when three shooters rained bullets on them, killing them on the spot.
The murders, which took place while the two were accompanied by a police team, have triggered strong remarks on the state's law and order situation. Questions on glaring lapses in police's preparations and response have come to the fore.
Main opposition Samajwadi Party has hit out at the state government over the murders that took place on live TV as Atiq was addressing the press.
"Crime has reached its peak in UP and the morale of the criminals is high. When someone can be killed openly despite being surrounded by a security cordon, one can imagine the state of the general public. Due to this (alleged encounter killings), an ambience of fear is being created among the public. It seems that some people are deliberately creating such an ambience," Akhilesh Yadav, Leader of Opposition in Assembly and chief of Samajwadi Party, tweeted.
Amid the criticism, the state government has ordered a high-level probe into the murders. UP police, too, have formed a three-member Special Investigation Team to look into the incident.
The matter has also reached the Supreme Court. The court today decided to hear a petition seeking an independent probe into the killings of the gangster and his brother. The petitioner has also urged the court to look into the growing trend of encounter killings by UP police. "Such actions by police are a severe threat to democracy and rule of law and lead to a police state," the petition has stated.
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