Only strict action can restore people’s faith in law and order: Akhilesh
The war of words between CM Yogi Adityanath and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav over the Sultanpur encounter has escalated, with Yogi stating that the SP is upset because a dacoit was killed in an encounter
LUCKNOW Amid the political row over the Sultanpur encounter, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Friday said that only a thorough investigation into this case and strict action could restore people’s faith in the state’s law and order.
“The bereaved family of Mangesh Yadav, who lost his life in the so-called encounter, says the police picked Mangesh on September 2 and his encounter was shown on September 5. Only a thorough investigation of this case and strict action can restore the lost faith of the public in law and order. The BJP has lost the moral basis of governance and administration,” he wrote in a post on a social networking site after meeting family members of Mangesh Yadav, who was killed in an encounter with STF team in Sultanpur on September 5, at the party headquarters here.
Mangesh Yadav’s father Rakesh Yadav, mother Sheela Devi and sister Princy Yadav, who came from Agraura village in Jaunpur, informed the SP chief about the entire incident.
“Under the BJP government, there are figures of encounters, injustice of illegal killings and figures of injustice against the PDA. OBCs, Dalits and minorities are being oppressed on a daily basis. The SP has always raised its voice against injustice and oppression,” stated Akhilesh Yadav.
The war of words between chief minister Yogi Adityanath and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav over the Sultanpur encounter had escalated, with Yogi stating recently that the SP was upset because a dacoit was killed in a police encounter.
“You all must have seen that when a mafia or dacoit is killed in a police encounter, they are rattled. Tell me, if the dacoit killed in the encounter had succeeded in his robbery, what if he had killed a customer at that jewellery shop? Will the Samajwadi Party be able to bring his life back,” the CM addressing a gathering in Ambedkar Nagar on Sunday.
“The customers could have been from any caste—Yadav, Dalit, or any other. There is a tradition of giving ornaments and jewellery in marriages, and people visit jewellery shops to buy them. What if the customers and jewellers had been robbed and the dacoits had escaped? These same people would have started shouting that there is lawlessness in the state. Now that action has been taken against these dacoits and they were killed in a police encounter, the Samajwadi Party is feeling bad,” Yogi added.
Mangesh Yadav was killed in retaliatory firing by an STF team led by DySP DK Shahi and DySP Vimal Singh in an encounter at Mishripur Muraina turn in Sultanpur around 3.25am on September 5, stated additional DGP (law and order) Amitabh Yash. He informed that the criminal was involved in the sensational robbery at a jewellery shop and a reward of ₹1 lakh was declared on him along with nine others wanted in the robbery case. Mangesh Yadav hailed from Jaunpur and had seven cases of loot, robbery, theft in Jaunpur, Pratapgarh and Sultanpur against him between 2021 and 2024.