In his first public remarks following the killing of former MP Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday said that the rule of mafia has ended after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in the state.
Adityanath, while addressing an event at Textile Park in state capital Lucknow on Tuesday, claimed that the state was infamous for riots before his government came to power.
“Between 2012 and 2017, more than 700 riots took place in Uttar Pradesh, while more than 364 riots took place between 2007-2012. However, from 2017 till 2023, not a single riot broke out in UP and neither has curfew been imposed in the state. There will be no need for it,” CM Adityanath said.
Stating that the law and order has improved in the state, Adityanath said, “Earlier, the state suffered from an identity crisis. However today, criminals and mafias are in a crisis. Now, gangsters and mafia can no longer threaten entrepreneurs over phone. Uttar Pradesh today promises a better law and order situation,” the CM added.
The CM’s statement comes in the backdrop of the killing of mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf, who were killed on Saturday in full media glare, while they were handcuffed and in police custody.
They were taken on foot by armed policemen to Colvin Hospital in Prayagraj for routine check-up at around 10:30 PM. The three assailants, disguised as journalists, sprayed bullets on them while they were being surrounded by mediapersons who were trying to get sound bites from the brothers.
The shooting came two days after Atiq’s 19-year-old son Asad Ahmed and his aide Ghulam Hussain were killed in an encounter by the Uttar Pradesh police Special Task Force in Jhansi.
Both Atiq and Ashraf were buried on April 16 at the Kasari Masari burial ground in Prayagraj.
The Uttar Pradesh government ordered a judicial probe in the wake of the killings, while the Uttar Pradesh Police announced the formation of two special investigating teams (SITs) to probe the killings.