The Citizenship Amendment Act had led to many violent protests being orchestrated across the country. While the violence perpetrated by the rioters in other states may have been forgiven, the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh is in no mood to let go of these goons so easily. Vandals and miscreants are being extensively identified using CCTV footage, videography and also ground intelligence.
Various districts across the state have also asked the identified rioters to cough up several lakh rupees as compensation for the damage that has been inflicted upon public and private property. Yogi Adityanath had said that his government will act against those involved in the violence over the amended Citizenship Act by auctioning their property to compensate for the losses. About 130 rioters have been asked to shell out Rs 50 lakhs for the damages.
The police meanwhile are leaving no stone unturned to punish the perpetrators of violence. In fact, in an extremely rare operation, a police personnel dressed up as a banana vendor carried out an undercover operation to nab some goons. The Agra Police received information that certain miscreants that had caused violence in Firozabad after the Friday prayers had fled to Agra and were in hiding.
Since it would have been difficult to nab these miscreants and differentiate them from innocent citizens, the police decided to go undercover. As a result, Sub-Inspector Sunil Tomar of Mantola Police Station disguised himself as a banana vendor in Agra. Not revealing exact details, the SHO of Mantola Police station said that the plan was successful.
The UP Police had earlier also revealed that 263 police personnel have been injured in violence across the state. It is pertinent to mention here that 57 of them received bullet injuries showing how the hooligans and rioters tried to inflict casualties upon police personnel. Around 5,400 people have been taken into custody by the UP Police and 705 of them have been sent to jail.
It must be mentioned that the Chief Minister himself has given the UP Police a free hand when it comes to dealing with those involved in violence or those seen inciting the same. The heavy crackdown by police has prevented the state from slipping into a violent frenzy for a prolonged period of time, in which case there would have been a high probability of communal clashes erupting.
The Uttar Pradesh police deserves appreciation for dealing with rioters with an iron fist and setting an example for other states to follow. To be soft against those whose sole purpose is to disrupt public order and cause mass violence is an unpardonable mistake. The UP Police’ tactics to nab the goons send out a stern warning to all– none will be spared, no matter how much they try to hide.