Lucknow: The sentencing of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari by the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad high court in two back-to-back cases in the past two days is a major breakthrough for the UP CM Yogi Adityanath, a government spokesperson claimed. The decision is the beginning of the end of the era of gangsters in UP, he said.
Ansari is currently facing trial in 10 different cases in Prayagraj MP-MLA court as well as cases in Azamgarh and Ghazipur courts. He operated in districts of Ghazipur, Mau, Varanasi, Sonbhadra, Lucknow and Chandauli while his crimes included, murder, conspiring to murder, running extortion rackets, kidnappings etc, the officer added.
The spokesperson claimed the conviction rate in the state is the highest in most crimes in the country, according to the NCRB report 2021. For example, in conviction of criminals in crime against women, cybercrime, seizure of arms and arrests under IPC, UP has topped among the 36 states and UTs, the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson claimed that the Yogi government has stopped illegal annual income of criminals worth Rs 1,420 crore while identifying 50 mafia groups as well as seizing and demolishing their properties worth Rs 21,000 crore. Between March 20, 2017 and August 29, 2022, action has been taken against 14,000 gangsters and mafia while cases under the NSA and Gangsters Act have been registered against 795, the spokesperson said.
According to him, the Yogi government has seized properties worth several crores of gangsters, including assets worth Rs 448 crore of Mukhtar Ansari, Rs 959 crore of Atique Ahmed, Rs 111 crore of Devendra Singh, Rs 94 crore of Yashpal Tomar and Rs 32 crore of Dilip Mishra. Many gangsters have been killed in police encounters also during CM Yogi’s tenure.
All these suggest that the government is preparing to bring the curtains down on activities of gangsters in the state, the spokesperson said.