The Yogi Adityanath government’s crackdown on the mafiosi in the state has left such elements running for their lives. Many of them are behind the bars and their illegal properties have been demolished, showing them the place they belong to.
In an official communiqué released on Saturday, the government spokesman said that the Yogi Adityanath government’s steely resolve to eliminate mafia and their crime have borne fruits in the recent past.
The action against Mukhtar Ansari, Sunder Bhati and now Atiq Ahmad has given a strong message for these anti-socials in a big way.
Atiq Ahmad, presently lodged in Sabarmati jail at Ahmedabad, has cited various ailments, including kidney complications, high blood pressure and diabetes, to get exemption from personal appearance in court instead of asking for court attendance in Prayagraj through video conferencing. Clearly, it indicates his fear psychosis in the wake of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s police action.
Atiq Ahmed has also referred to the distance between Ahmedabad and Prayagraj (1,450 kms) in his request for video conferencing through his lawyer.
It may be mentioned here that last month, the district administration of Prayagraj had razed the illegal properties of Atiq Ahmed’s associates.
The exercise included demolishing of a two – storey lodge of one Bhutto and the houses of Arshad and Kammu, all of which were illegally constructed on state land.
Another house worth over Rs 30 crore belonging to Atiq Ahmed was also demolished by the authorities in Prayagraj in September and properties worth Rs 39.80 crores were also freed.
Besides Atiq Ahmed, the state government is also busy cracking the whip on mafia Mukhtar Ansari and his associates. In August last, Rakesh Pandey, one of his associates and a co-accused in the 2005 murder of Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Krishnanand Rai, was killed in a cross-firing with the police in Lucknow.
An illegal slaughterhouse belonging to Ansari’s associates was also razed in the Mau district in August and the Gangsters Act was also slapped on Ansari’s wife, Afsa Ansari, and her two brothers, Sharzal Ansari and Anwar Shahzad. Illegal properties of Ansari and his henchmen worth over Rs 45 crore have also been seized in eastern Uttar Pradesh, including Varanasi, Ghazipur, Mau, Jaunpur, Azamgarh and Lucknow, the government release added.
Moreover, the gang’s annual earnings of over Rs 45 crore was also stopped and 96 of his gang members were arrested in the recent past.
Besides the ongoing crackdown on these mafia and their associates, as many as 17 mafiosi have been identified and marked by the authorities for further action.
