Lucknow, Dec 31 (IANS): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s much-publicised bulldozers -- known as ‘Baba’s bulldozers’ in local parlance -- have emerged as a symbol of State power and a crushing machine for patrons of organised crime.
Yogi Adityanath has been using bulldozers to raze properties, built illegally on government land by criminals and the mafia.
The first major property to be bulldozed was the palatial house of Vikas Dubey in Kanpur. Dubey was the main accused in the massacre of eight policemen in Bikru Village on July 3, 2020. He was later arrested and shot dead in a police encounter. His house in Bikru Village was pulled down and remains so till date.
The bulldozer picked up speed after this incident and properties belonging to mafia dons like Mukhtar Ansari, Atiq Ahmad, their kin, business partners and aides have been pulled down in various cities of Uttar Pradesh.
The Yogi Adityanath Government mainly targeted two mafia dons – Mukhtar Ansari and Atiq Ahmad – and today a majority of the members of these two gangs are either dead, in jail or on the run.
A senior STF official said, “We can claim that almost 95 per cent members of the Atiq and Mukhtar gangs are either dead or in jail. The remaining members are absconding. Organised crime has been dealt a death blow in Uttar Pradesh and the real estate business has taken a hit since the mafia invests its money in this sector.”
The bulldozer action has almost become synonymous with freedom from oppression, especially among the poor, whose land was usurped by the dons.
On the other hand, it has instilled a deep sense of fear among criminals who poach on the properties of others.
The popularity of the bulldozer is apparent from the fact that the market is flooded with bulldozer-shaped sprinklers during Holi and bulldozer-shaped crackers during Diwali. The most favoured toys in the market now are also bulldozers.
However, while the state policy is getting increasingly bulldozer-driven, petty criminals are getting a free run. This has led to a spurt in crimes including rape, murders and kidnappings for ransom.
The biggest challenge that the Uttar Pradesh Police now faces is the sudden spurt in cyber-crimes which are being reported in more numbers than routine crimes.
The police force of Uttar Pradesh is not yet fully equipped to deal with such cases and the common man remains vulnerable to such crimes.
“Cyber-crime is changing its form almost every day. Artificial Intelligence-based voice cloning is the latest tool for extortion. We have to equip our cops with the latest technology and the problem is that most of them are not tech-savvy. We are taking steps to provide necessary training so that every district has its own cyber cell,” said a senior police officer, known for his expertise in handling cyber crime.