"Criminals have no caste": ADG UP STF Amitabh Yash on caste-based encounter allegations

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], September 26 : Amitabh Yash, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order), Special Task Force, Uttar Pradesh, on Thursday termed the caste-based encounter allegations as "baseless" and said that the criminals have "no caste."
Speaking to ANI, Amitabh Yash said that a lot of efforts are being made to bring crime under control.
"Arresting criminals is a part of it. As soon as information about an incident is received, our emergency response system 112 reaches in less than 10 minutes...The situation is attended to...STF, ATS have also been activated to take action against criminals. Specialist agencies are being used in cases of big incidents of crime. All kinds of technical assistance are being taken. With public participation, the police ran an 'Operation Trinetra' wherein the public is being inspired to install CCTV cameras around their property so that if an incident takes place, it can be worked out at the earliest," ADGP (Law and Order), STF Uttar Pradesh said.
He further said that encounter is an incidental part of the drive, when criminals fire on Police to avoid being nabbed.
"In any case, the encounter is not even 1 per cent of the total number of arrests...It (allegations of caste-based encounter) is baseless. If you see the old records and facts, you would understand that there is no truth to it...criminals have no caste," he added.
The ADG UP STF said that in the past years, the Uttar Pradesh Police has brought crime under control, adding that around 50,000 criminals were convicted in around one year.
"In past years, UP Police has brought crime under control through very difficult situations. Several drives were carried out. Operation Conviction was held, and around 50,000 criminals were convicted in around 1 year. A special focus is being placed on the crimes against women and children. Special emphasis is also on the conviction of mafia. That is why, witnesses gave testaments in long-pending cases - going back 30 years, trial was completed, and mafia were given strict punishment," he said.
Earlier, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi strongly condemned the string of encounters in Uttar Pradesh.
"The politics of murder, violence, and encounters has no place in a society governed by the rule of law. These actions insult the Constitution. Every life taken without a judicial order is a violation of justice," she posted on X.
The Congress leader pointed out that nearly 13,000 encounters have taken place in Uttar Pradesh in the last seven years.
"Has this improved law and order? Has it curbed crime? What purpose is being served here?" she questioned, reiterating her demand for a judicial investigation into the matter.