Many Times UP Cops Arrest "Innocent", Claims Top Uttarakhand Bureaucrat

Uttarakhand Additional Chief Secretary Radha Raturi got into a war of words with the Uttar Pradesh Police on Monday with the latter accusing her of making "irresponsible" statements, days after an unsuccessful raid in the hill state to arrest an alleged sand mining mafia led to the death of a local BJP leader's wife.

At a press conference, Uttarakhand's Additional Chief Secretary Radha Raturi said crimes should be investigated properly and the guilty should be punished, not the innocent.

"Many times, the Uttar Pradesh Police catch innocent persons and claim they are guilty. It should not be like that. Catching one innocent person may lead to the rise of 99 more wrongdoers," she said. Taking strong exception to the statement, the Uttar Pradesh Police termed it "irresponsible" and suggested that a civil servant should refrain from such comments.

In Lucknow, Additional Director General, (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said, "The Uttar Pradesh Police has seen and heard the statement of the additional chief secretary, home, Uttarakhand. The ACS has issued an irresponsible statement without knowing the facts. Any civil servant should avoid such statements especially when it is related to the matter of the country's biggest and sensitive state."

"This statement is regrettable and not based on facts. Does Mukthar Ansari and Vijay Mishra convicted by the courts appear innocent to the ACS?" "Does Zafar, a mining mafia, who is wanted or senior block head of Udham Singh Nagar appears innocent for her? The statement is unfortunate as the UP police has taken strict action against criminals in the state and also against PFI," he said.

Later, Raturi clarified that she wanted to say that "crimes should be investigated properly and only the guilty should be punished, not the innocent. Police of all states are performing well. Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand police often work together to solve crimes." The Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand police are locked in a standoff over an unsuccessful raid a few days ago.

The police had attempted to arrest sand mining mafia Zafar and his associates from Bharatpur village of Udham Singh Nagar district in Uttarakhand on October 12 night, but a clash broke out between the police team and villagers.

In the clash, the wife of a local BJP leader was killed and five others, including four Uttar Pradesh Police personnel, were injured. Several police personnel were also held captive by villagers in Bharatpur and were freed following the intervention of senior police officials.

Udham Singh Nagar Senior Superintendent of Police had claimed that the Uttar Pradesh Police team did not inform their Uttarakhand counterparts about the action in advance.

Zafar was arrested on Sunday from Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad.

At the press conference on Monday, when asked about the deadline of three days given to police officials for solving three criminal cases in the state, Raturi said there is no ultimatum. They have been asked to investigate the cases properly and punish the guilty, she said.

She also blamed the media for the "high morale" of criminals in the state, saying if it was reported that action was being taken, their morale would not have been so high.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)