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Amidst the annals of history, the occurrence in February of yesteryear reverberated throughout the region, heralding the barbaric daylight slaying of legal practitioner Umesh Pal within Prayagraj. Such a vile act, executed with brazen audacity, promptly subjected the perceived enhancement in governance and law enforcement, cultivated over the preceding sextennial under the rule of Yogi Adityanath in Uttar Pradesh, to acute scrutiny.

However, in the mere span of twenty-four hours subsequent to this harrowing event, orchestrated by the incarcerated mafia-cum-politician Atiq Ahmad and executed personally by his progeny Asad, the Chief Minister adeptly shifted the narrative. Teetering on the brink of a perceptual defeat, Yogi deftly reversed the tide, delivering a resolute counterargument on the parliamentary floor.

“Mitti main mila denge (will crush them to dirt),” resonated the potent rejoinder from CM Adityanath, catalyzing a domino effect and leaving the law enforcement agencies devoid of ambiguity concerning the future course of action. The subsequent arrests and confrontations unequivocally reaffirmed the populace’s confidence in the Yogi administration’s unwavering stance against major syndicates and organized crime. The primary perpetrators, former MP Atiq Ahmad and his sibling, erstwhile MLA Ashraf Ahmad, met their demise at the hands of three assailants while en route to a medical facility for examination.

Fast forward a year, as Yogi Adityanath commemorates his septennial tenure as chief executive, his political faction, the BJP, enters the parliamentary elections for the Lok Sabha, aspiring for an unprecedented third consecutive term with Narendra Modi at the helm. The BJP’s prospects of securing a hat-trick hinge significantly on Uttar Pradesh, a pivotal state contributing eighty delegates to the Lok Sabha. In a realm as vast and variegated as Uttar Pradesh, the BJP’s optimism derives from the efficacy of the Yogi administration in governance and law enforcement. Undoubtedly, Prime Minister Modi himself has, on numerous occasions, extolled Yogi’s stewardship in UP as “UP-YOGI.”

The pivotal inquiry remains: will the governance persona cultivated by Yogi, particularly his uncompromising stance against criminal elements and major syndicates, furnish the BJP with the necessary adhesive to achieve a resounding victory in its Mission 80 for Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha elections? Political pundits assert that securing a substantial seat count in the state is imperative for the BJP’s aspirations of retaining control of the central government for a third consecutive term.

UP BJP spokesperson Hero Bajpai underscored the zero-tolerance stance towards criminality and syndicates adopted by the state government under the leadership of Yogi Adityanath over the past seven years, fostering an environment wherein the common citizenry feels safeguarded. He posited that bolstered law enforcement would play a pivotal role in bolstering voter confidence, as evidenced by its catalytic effect on attracting substantial investments, thereby augmenting the state’s economic landscape.

Ramesh Dixit, former luminary of political science at Lucknow University, contended that while the BJP and its coalition experienced a meteoric rise in the Lok Sabha polls, clinching seventy-three seats amidst the Modi wave in 2014, their tally dwindled to sixty-four seats in 2019. He conjectured that only time would elucidate whether the state government’s stringent policies would bolster or erode the BJP’s prospects.

Per data disclosed by the state police, one hundred and ninety-seven felons were neutralized in police encounters, with over six thousand sustaining injuries, between April 2017 and March 2024. Concurrently, over sixteen thousand offenders, bearing bounties of ₹25,000 on their heads, were apprehended, alongside the arrest of over sixteen hundred felons carrying cash rewards of ₹50,000, and nearly two hundred with rewards exceeding ₹50,000. Furthermore, assets valued at over ₹12,404 crore, held unlawfully by various mafiosos, gangsters, and criminal elements, were seized, dismantled, and reclaimed during this period.

Prashant Kumar, Director General of Police (DGP) for Uttar Pradesh, asserted that the state police had remained steadfast in preserving tranquility and upholding law and order. Apart from delivering a fitting response to aggressors targeting law enforcement, concerted efforts were undertaken to dismantle the upper echelons of sixty-eight prominent syndicates, resulting in the seizure and reclamation of assets worth ₹3,758 crore. Additionally, legal proceedings were initiated against eleven hundred and ninety-nine affiliates of said syndicates, culminating in the filing of seven hundred and thirteen cases and the subsequent arrest of five hundred and eighty-three individuals.

The DGP further elucidated that the state police played a pivotal role in securing convictions across a spectrum of cases, encompassing a myriad of malefactors. Notable among these were Mukhtar Ansari, Vijay Mishra, Anupam Dubey, Saud Akhtar, and Dharmendra Sanjay Singhla, who were implicated in seventy-two cases.

Moreover, thirteen convicts found guilty under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act were sentenced to death, while life imprisonment was meted out in at least two hundred and ninety-one cases, with over one thousand and one hundred individuals incarcerated for over a decade.

Crusade against narcotics and contraband

As per police records, a concerted effort was launched to combat the proliferation and utilization of narcotics and psychotropic substances, resulting in the lodging of over twenty thousand cases and the seizure of contraband valued at ₹1,562.47 crore across various regions of the state.

Similarly, a stringent crackdown was enacted against the production and distribution of illicit liquor, culminating in the registration of at least one hundred and fifty-nine thousand four hundred and eighty-four cases, and the confiscation of illicit spirits valued at ₹201.02 crore over the same period.