UP mafia: 3 of 66 named in police list now dead
Lucknow: With Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath promising a crackdown against mafia, the Uttar Pradesh Police last month released a list containing the names of heads of 66 criminal gangs, and top officials say multiple teams are on the ground looking for the absconding accused and also keeping an eye on those on bail.
Three of the listed gangsters are now dead – Anil Dujana and Aditya Rana alias Ravi killed in police encounters, and Atiq Ahmad killed in Prayagraj by assailants posing as journalists.
Atiq Ahmad’s brother Ashraf, whose name did not figure in the list, was also gunned down with him.
Among the rest 63 named in the list, Harwinder Singh alias Jugnu Walia, a close aide of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, was apprehended recently while four are absconding, 20 are out on bail, and 38 are lodged in different jails.
Singh was arrested by a team of the anti-gangster task force (AGTF) of the Punjab Police, officials said.
He was a wanted criminal and the Uttar Pradesh Police had announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh on his arrest, Director General of Police of Punjab Gaurav Yadav said on Saturday.
“In a major breakthrough, AGTF arrested Harwinder S@ Jugnu Walia, a close aide of Mukhtar Ansari. He was linked in a number of criminal cases including murder, attempt to murder, extortion, etc,” Yadav tweeted.
Meanwhile, senior Uttar Pradesh Police officials said the government is monitoring all criminals whose names are there in the list.
“Our teams are on the lookout for the criminals and if they fire at the police instead of surrendering, they will definitely face retaliation,” a police officer said.
Special Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said: “The police are keeping an eye on everyone. Nobody will be allowed to play with law and order in the state.”
He said multiple teams have been formed to to arrest the mafia who are absconding.
“The police are keeping a close watch on the activities of the mafia, who are on bail. The police carry out their verification from time to time.”
The mafia list was released weeks after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath vowed decisive action against such elements in the state.
“Mafiaaon ko mitti me mila denge (will reduce the mafia to dust),” he had thundered in the state assembly during a heated debate with Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav over the issue of Atiq Ahmad, who was then lodged in a jail in Gujarat.
On May 4, gangster Anil Dujana, whose name generated fear in the districts of National Capital Region for two decades, was killed in Meerut in an encounter with the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force.
“Anil Dujana, a wanted criminal, was surrounded by our team in a village in Meerut on Thursday afternoon. Dujana fired at our team to escape and was killed in retaliatory firing,” Additional Director General of UP STF Amitabh Yash had said.
Anil, who carried his village name as his last name, had over 60 cases lodged against him, including of murder and extortion.
He was killed just two weeks after mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf were shot dead from point-blank range by threes people as the two brothers alighted a police van and walked towards a hospital, handcuffed and being escorted by policemen, in Prayagraj around 10 pm.
On April 12, the Special Task Force gunned down Aditya Rana alias Ravi, who had fled from police custody.
Under Additional Director General of Police (ADG) STF Amitabh Yash said police, as part of a special campaign, are looking for criminals declared absconding.
