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Yogi Adityanath puts police, administration on 24x7 alert after Friday violence
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath tells officials to track illicit income used in anti-social activities
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday put the Uttar Pradesh police and administration on 24x7 alert mode, saying that anti-social elements may make similar attempts in the days to come.
He asked the officers concerned to form a dedicated team to look out for ‘illicit income’ as “such an income is often used in anti-social activities”.
The chief minister said that anti-social elements on Friday attempted to disturb the peace and harmony and vitiate the atmosphere in various districts — Prayagraj, Saharanpur, Moradabad, Hathras, Firozabad and Ambedkarnagar. Before that, similar attempts were made in Kanpur on June 3.
“Illicit income is always spent on anti-social activities. So gather all the details of the bank accounts and properties of conspirators and accused people. Track and investigate their financial sources. Set up a dedicated team for this. And top officers should take a lead in such cases,” Yogi Adityanath.
He said this at a special law and order meeting he held with the top police and administrative officers in Lucknow and simultaneous video conference with the commissioners of all divisions, district magistrates and police chiefs of all the districts.
“The officers in the field have the powers to take any decision to maintain law and order,” he said.
“We had issued instructions for alert beforehand and that’s why most of the districts in the state were peaceful. Maintain this peace, stay alert,” Yogi said, according to a statement issued by the state government.
He appreciated the police for effective action, said the statement, adding that the chief minister said that the situation in the state was under control but “stay prepared for any situation”.
“It is sad that the conspirators used adolescents in their evil intents. Thus, it is necessary to identify and track all the conspirators,” he said.
The chief minister also asked all the delegates in the meeting to maintain dialogue with religious leaders and prominent citizens in their respective areas and, at the same time, continue to go tough on hooligans.
“Make an example out of the actions so that anti-social elements would not dare to disturb the atmosphere,” he said.
“Make the guilty persons compensate for the loss of public and private property in such incidents,” he also said.
Several districts in the state and some places elsewhere in the country had witnessed violent protests after the Friday prayers over alleged blasphemous statements by two former BJP spokespersons.
“A tribunal already exists regarding the damages to the public and private property. So act swiftly,” he said.
“Don’t touch the innocent, don’t spare the guilty, scan CCTV footage carefully to catch the guilty, invoke prohibitory orders wherever required, deploy extra police force in sensitive areas, run police foot-patroling in the evenings, keep PRV-112 active all the time,” Yogi said.
