Criminals will be jailed or killed in encounters: CM Yogi Adityanath

GHAZIABAD: Claiming the law and order situation had improved in Uttar Pradesh since BJP came to power in March, chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said the criminals in the state will "either be sent to jail or killed in police encounters".

He was speaking at a rally at Ramleela Ground in Ghaziabad for the upcoming civic polls. "Before March 2017, industries, traders and the youth were fleeing UP owing to crime and disorder. However, with stability in law and order, the state has attracted investment," he said.

Adityanath said the first challenge before him when he took charge as CM was to control crime, and ensure the rule of law prevailed across the state. "Hum unka jeena haram kar denge (we will make life difficult for criminals)," he said, "Uske liye do hi jagah hongi phir. Ya toh pradesh ke jail honge. Ya phir police ki mutbhed mein Yamraj ka ghar uski jagah hogi (They will have only two places to go. Either they will be sent to jail or killed in police encounters and sent to Yamraj's house)," he added.

The CM referred to the ban on illegal slaughterhouses as among the most important decisions taken by his government, apart from successfully organising the Kanwar Yatra in July.

The CM's address came on a day when, in nearby Meerut, hundreds of Bajrang Dal members barged into a police station, and abused and assaulted personnel and damaged property. They alleged a fellow member was wrongly beaten by policemen from the station. Just two days ago, a BJP worker and his two aides were shot by bike-borne assailants in Gautam Budh Nagar.

That attack also claimed the life of a Class X student who was passing by.