Punjab-Haryana High Court order "encouraging" UP govt to continue with fake encounters

The Uttar Pradesh civil rights organization Rihai Manch has sharply criticized the Punjab and Haryana High Court for saying that the two State governments should form a law to “finish off” criminals on the pattern of UP within six months, alleging it is speaking the language of UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath.
In a statement, the Rihai Manch said, a delegation of the civil rights body met the family members of Shahzad after they raised questions over the manner in which he was killed in a police encounter in Saharanpur. The delegation consisted of Ravish Alam, Ashu Chaudhary, Engineer Usman, Ash Muhammad, Amir Ahmed, Arsh Tyagi and Sajid.
Following the meeting, the Rihai Manch issued a statement, where it criticized the Yogi government for the law which gives powers to the police powers to finish off gangsters and anti-social elements, insisting the High Court order has come at a time when backwards, Dalits and minorities are being targeted in UP.
In many cases, the National Human Rights Commission is investigating and the People’s Union for Civil Liberties has petitioned in the Supreme Court against such killings, the statement said, regretting, the verdict of the Punjab and Haryana High Court would only encourage the “criminal police mentality.”
Rihai Manch’s Mohd Shoeb said, the order comes at a time when there is serious infringement of human rights in UP, insisting, the court verdict has worked as a major boost to the Yogi government which is surrounded by allegations of a fake encounters.
Encouraged by the High Court order, the Uttar Pradesh police was quick to make public data saying that during 3,599 encounters over the two-and-a-half years of the Yogi government, 73 were killed and 1,059 injured, while 8,251 alleged criminals were arrested.
Yet, it said, crimes in the state are continuously going up. This means that the government campaign against the criminals has failed. The intention is to take political vendetta against Dalits, backwards and minorities.

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