Opposition leaders in UP demand high-level probe into Jhansi encounter

By engaging in fake encounters, BJP govt intends to divert attention from real issues. There should be an in-depth probe into this and recent encounters and those guilty must not be spared, says Akhilesh Yadav

LUCKNOW The death of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad’s son Asad in an encounter on Thursday triggered a political row after the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) demanded a thorough investigation, even as Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath lauded the efforts of the police personnel involved in the operation.

Police personnel at the site of the encounter in which jailed mafia Atiq Ahmad’s son Asad was killed by the UP STF, in Jhansi, Thursday. (PTI Photo)

While SP chief Akhilesh Yadav called the encounter “fake” and said the state government was trying to divert attention from real issues, BSP chief Mayawati said the killing could be a repeat of the “Vikas Dubey incident”.

.“By engaging in fake encounters, the BJP government intends to divert attention from real issues. BJP-ites do not believe in the judiciary. There should be an in-depth probe into this and recent encounters and those guilty must not be spared. The ruler doesn’t have the right to decide right and wrong. BJP is against harmony,” said Akhilesh Yadav in a tweet in Hindi.

On March 7, SP chief national general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav had claimed in a statement that Atiq’s son would be killed in a fake encounter in a day or two.

Mayawati, on her part, said in a tweet: “A lot of discussion is happening over the “murder” of Atiq Ahmed’s son and one more person. People feel that the hunch they had over the repetition of Vikas Dubey case came true. There should be a high-level probe into the incident to bring all facts and truth before the public.”

In July 2020, the UP police had killed Kanpur gangster Vikas Dubey.

The police had said they shot Dubey near Kanpur while he was in transit in a police convoy from Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain. Cops claimed that they had killed Dubey after he tried to escape from the police vehicle, which had overturned.

Meanwhile, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi condemned the BJP over the incident, saying: “Will the BJP also shoot those who murdered Junaid and Nasir? No, because you (the BJP) conduct encounters in the name of religion.”

Owaisi said this at an event in Telangana’s Nizamabad. AIMIM’s UP unit shared his statement in Lucknow. The reference to Junaid and Nasir was of the incident in which the two youth were allegedly killed by cow vigilantes in February and their burnt remains were found in a car in Haryana near Rajasthan border.

“If you want to weaken the rule of law, conduct an “encounter” with the Constitution. Why do we have courts, the law, the CrPC, the IPC, and judges? You have just decided to engage in encounter killings,” said Owaisi.

Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) leader Anupam Mishra said: “If someone has committed a crime, then he must be punished, but we have the rule of law. So, the determination of justice and punishment should also be done as per the legal process. If the executive will start doing the work of the judiciary, then it is not only a mockery of the separation of powers, but also a question mark on the democratic/judicial system itself. Everyone was anticipating that the police would encounter them (the accused) and that is exactly what has happened. If death penalty was given by the judiciary, people’s trust in our institutions would have increased.”