In UP, the Yogi government which is set to complete three years tomorrow, has recovered 80,000 rupees from the anti-CAA rioters in the first installment. In Kanpur, the six families whose members were involved in damage of public property deposited 80,000 rupees in district administration’s account. Every person paid an amount of 13,476 rupees to the administration. In Lucknow, the district administration has issued challan of 21 lakh rupees in the name of 13 rioters.
Apart from recovery of the damage of public property, the UP government has also put up the posters of those involved across the city. The Lucknow district administration has started the process to shame as many as 57 people who have been identified for causing violence during the anti-CAA protests. A total of 100 hoardings with names and addresses of 57 persons have been put across the city.
Uttar Pradesh has largely remained calm even when Delhi simmered as the UP administration adopted a no-nonsense approach as it compelled the rioters to pay for the damage caused to public property.
Prior to putting up hoardings, the state administration issued recovery notices to these people for damaging public property worth Rs 1.55 crore in various districts of the state. In case the rioters fail to pay the recovery amount, the properties of the accused would be confiscated by the UP Police.
As a result, in December 2019, residents of violence-hit areas of Bulandshahr handed over a demand draft of Rs 6.27 lakh to the district magistrate along with an assurance that such incident will not happen again in future. Senior officials called it a “voluntary act of repentance”. And now those in Kanpur have also paid up. The rioters in other districts like Lucknow, Aligarh are yet to pay up the recovery amount.
When sporadic incidents of violence were reported in the state in December last year, Yogi Adityanath came out with a stern message as he said, “There is no place for violence in a democracy. In the name of opposing the CAA, the Congress, SP and Left parties have pushed the entire country to fire. There was violence in Lucknow and Sambhal and we will deal with it strictly. All properties of those involved in damaging public assets will be seized and auctioned to compensate for the losses. They have been captured in video and CCTV footage. We will take ”badla” (revenge) on them.”
The UP Police’s decision to make rioters pay for the damages caused to public property caused much heartburn among the liberal fraternity but little did the liberals realise that the UP Police was only following the orders of the Supreme Court.
The SC in its October 2018 observed that the state governments must make those responsible for damage to public property liable to compensate victims and reimburse the losses.
Recently, the UP administration also ceased 50 shops in Muzzafarnagar of individuals who caused damage to public property during the anti-CAA protests.
The police are making full use of CCTV footages and other videography’s to identify and initiate action against goons. Such acts are dealt with under the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act of 1984.