50 Criminals Surrender Within 15 Days Of Yogi Storming Back To Power In Up

(This story originally appeared in on Mar 27, 2022)

LUCKNOW: Within a fortnight of Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government storming back to power on March 10, at least 50 criminals have surrendered, fearing police encounters or bulldozers rolling over their homes.

With placards hung around their necks with a message scribbled on it — I am surrendering, please don’t open fire — several wanted criminals have walked into police stations across the state and given themselves up.

The trend began with on-the-run Gautam Singh, who was accused of kidnapping and extortion. He surrendered at Chhapia police station in Gonda district on March 15. Within three days, 23 criminals bid farewell to crime at Chilkana police station of Saharanpur in west Uttar Pradesh.

Later, four liquor smugglers surrendered to Deoband police with an affidavit stating they would not commit crime again.

This was followed by a spate of surrenders in neighbouring Shamli district, where 18 people accused of cow slaughter walked into Thanabhawan and Garhipukhta police stations to be taken into custody. Within days, another wanted criminal Himanshu aka Honey held aloft a placard pleading cops not to shoot him when he surrendered at Sirsaganj police station in Firozabad.

ADG, law and order, Prashant Kumar said 50 criminals have not only surrendered, but pledged to give up crime. Two criminals were shot in encounters and 10 others arrested in this period, he said.

“To improve law and order, prompt and strict action is being taken through micro-planning to instil fear among criminals in every corner of the state,” he said. Zero tolerance to crime is not just about an effective crackdown on mafia, but renewed vigilance and intensified patrolling by UP-112, said Kumar. Also, there were no communal riots in the state since 2017, he added.