Flagging her concern over the abysmal state of law and order in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring Delhi, the region's former chief minister, opposition politician Mayawati said on Friday that the incumbent Yogi Adityanath government can surely take crime-tackling lessons from the Hyderabad city police.
Congratulating the Hyderabad Police force for eliminating the four accused of raping a 26-year-old veterinarian on 28 November, Mayawati said: "Police in Uttar Pradesh and also in Delhi should take inspiration from Hyderabad Police. But unfortunately here (in Uttar Pradesh) criminals are treated as state guests.” Many have expressed worry that the killing of the four accused murderers was extra-judicial.
"Crimes against women are on the rise in Uttar Pradesh, but the state government is sleeping. Hope the attitude changes for the better," she stated further.
Her criticism of the Uttar Pradesh government, which is administered by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) under the leadership of Adityanath, comes at a time when there is a mounting public outcry over a recent brutal arson assault on a 23-year-old gang-rape survivor.
While heading to court to testify in her rape case, she was thrashed, stabbed multiple times, doused with petrol and set ablaze by five men, including two of her alleged rapists on Thursday morning.
After being set on fire, the victim reportedly ran for a kilometre screaming for help. She suffered 90 percent burns and later had to be airlifted to a hospital in Delhi, where she is said to be struggling to survive.
Mayawati’s criticism of the poor state of law and order in Uttar Pradesh came a day after the state’s Minister for Food and Civil Supplies and Village Development, Raghvendra Pratap Singh, said:
"Saying that society would be 100 percent crime-free, I don't think this surety can be given even by Lord Ram (Hindu God and Indian mythological king)."
The minister also rejected opposition’s criticism about the collapse of law and order in the state, claiming that the ruling BJP has an enviable record of taking prompt action and punishing criminals and other anti-social elements.