“Now mafia can’t threaten anyone”: UP CM Yogi Adityanath says criminals were in ‘crisis’ now

Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, said on Tuesday that the mafia cannot threaten anyone in the state under the current BJP government. The CM’s remark comes just days after jailed gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were gunned down in Prayagraj district in the full media spotlight and amid heavy police presence. Earlier, Atiq’s fugitive son Asad was killed in an exchange of fire with the UP Special Task Force (STF) in the Jhansi district.

On Tuesday, CM Adityanath made the statement while speaking at the MoU signing ceremony at Textile Park in the state capital of Lucknow.

Claiming that the state was infamous for riots earlier, the CM said, “Between 2012 and 2017, more than 700 riots took place in Uttar Pradesh. However, from 2017 till 2023, not a single riot has happened in UP and neither has a curfew been imposed in the state.”

“Earlier, the state suffered from an identity crisis. However today, criminals and mafias are in a crisis. Now gangsters and mafia cannot threaten businessmen over the phone. Uttar Pradesh today promises a better law and order situation,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court agreed on Tuesday to hear a petition seeking the formation of an Independent Expert Committee chaired by a former Supreme Court judge to investigate the deaths of Atiq and Ashraf in the presence of police on April 24.

According to sources, Atiq Ahmed’s killers had a long history with crime and executed the killings on April 15 while the gangster-turned-politician and his brother Ashraf were in the custody of Uttar Pradesh Police in Prayagraj.

Three assailants dressed as journalists assassinated Atiq and Ashraf while the gangsters were being taken for medical checks at Prayagraj Medical College.

According to sources, the killers, identified as Arun Maurya, Sunny Singh, and Lavlesh Tiwari, “wanted to become gangsters” and plotted to kill Atiq.

The police said they were investigating whether anyone else was involved in the plan to kill Atiq and Ashraf. Police arrested all three youths at the scene of the shooting.

According to preliminary results of an autopsy conducted on his body after his sensational murder caught on camera outside a hospital in Prayagraj on April 15, Atiq was shot at least eight times, with bullet injuries found in his head, neck, and chest.

According to sources, three bullets pierced the body of Atiq’s brother, Ashraf, during the shootout that occurred outside the hospital where the police had taken them for a routine medical check-up on Monday. After being shot from close range, the gangster siblings collapsed on the spot.

According to sources, the initial postmortem report stated that Atiq was shot eight times, while Ashraf was shot five times. “Of the eight bullets that Atiq took, one hit his head, one his neck, one each on his chest, stomach, and waist,” as per reports. On April 16, Atiq and Ashraf were buried at Prayagraj’s Kasari Masari burial ground.

The initial post-mortem report stated that Ashraf was shot in the neck, back, and waist, with the bullets piercing his body. Following the killings, the Uttar Pradesh government ordered a judicial investigation. The Uttar Pradesh Police Department has also announced the formation of two special investigating teams (SITs) to investigate the killings.