Fearing Bulldozers, Over 50 Criminals Surrender In Uttar Pradesh In Two Weeks: Report

Across the state, there have been reports of several illegal encroachments being removed with bulldozers.

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New Delhi: Ever since the BJP returned to power in Uttar Pradesh, over 50 criminals have surrendered to police in two weeks, PTI quoted an official as saying.

Across the state, there have been reports of several illegal encroachments being removed with bulldozers.

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had earned the sobriquet of "bulldozer baba" during the recently concluded elections after the heavy machine was deployed by his government to raze the ill-gotten property of criminals and mafias in the state during his earlier stint. 
 
The 'bulldozer baba' image of Yogi Adityanath paid BJP rich dividends in the election as the party stormed back to power for a second consecutive term.

Several visuals of criminals walking to police stations with placards hanging around their necks with messages like "I am surrendering, don't shoot me, please!" have surfaced on social media recently. 

"More than 50 criminals have not only surrendered but also pledged to shun crime in the past over a fortnight," Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar told PTI on Monday.

Prashant Kumar said two criminals were killed in encounters and many others have been arrested during the period. The ADG said there was a clear-cut instruction to show no leniency towards criminals and mafias.

Meanwhile, bulldozers are being deployed in several parts of the state to clear encroachments and demolish illegal properties.

The fear of bulldozers among criminals was triggered after a hardcore criminal Gautam Singh, accused of many kidnapping and extortion cases, surrendered in the Chhapla police station in Gonda district on March 15, PTI reported.

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After the news came to light, nearly two dozen criminals surrendered at a police station in Saharanpur district, promising never to commit crimes.

There were also reports recently of four liquor smugglers surrendering in Deoband and some criminals in Shamli.

In Pratapgarh last week, a rape case accused surrendered four days after raping a woman in a toilet near the railway station. The accused gave him up after the police parked a bulldozer in front of his house.

 On March 6, an illegal structure built by a close associate of muscleman-politician Mukhtar Ansari was razed in Lucknow.

The government has also started razing shops built illegally on government land. On the eve of Holi, the administration had demolished shops on an encroached piece of land in the Mainpuri district. A similar action was taken in Auraiya.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had said in the state legislative assembly last year that houses for the poor would be built on land freed from mafias.

(With PTI inputs)