LUCKNOW Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday alleged that political interference under the previous Samajwadi Party government had weakened the police and emboldened criminals in the state, which saw 815 riots in the 2012-2017 period.
Each incident affected the livelihoods of poor people, daily wage workers and the education of children. Linking law and order to economic growth, he asked whether industrialists would invest in UP if the government did not act firmly against mafia. Inspector Sunil Kumar was awarded the President’s Medal for Gallantry posthumously this year. He added that five lakh cashless health cards had been issued to police personnel and their families under the police salary package.
Addressing the Police Commemoration Day event in Lucknow, Adityanath reiterated his government’s zero-tolerance policy towards crime and said the police had been freed from political constraints since the BJP came to power in 2017. Citing the 2012-17 period, Adityanath said 815 riots had taken place in the state. He claimed Uttar Pradesh had moved beyond the era of riots and insecurity, adding that properties worth more than ₹ 15,000 crore belonging to mafia elements had been seized. Land freed from illegal occupation was being used for housing for the poor, including a project involving 602 flats in Prayagraj. Since 2017, 18 UP police personnel had been killed and 1,953 injured during operations against crime, he said. The police department’s budget increased from ₹ 16,280.05 crore in 2017-18 to ₹ 43,891.36 crore in 2026-27, nearly 2.7 times the earlier allocation, according to state government figures.
Targeting critics of police encounters and the government’s zero-tolerance policy, he said some people expressed grief over the deaths of dreaded mafiosi and terrorists but lacked sympathy when innocent police personnel were killed by criminals or when their children were left orphaned. The CM said his government had revived Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) companies and established three women PAC battalions named after Veerangana Uda Devi Pasi, Veerangana Jhalkari Bai Kori and Veerangana Avanti Bai Lodhi.
