Mukhtar among 15 dons shifted to farflung jails

LUCKNOW: The state prison department on Wednesday shifted gangsters lodged in various jails to far-flung prisons to check their activities from behind bars.

Gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari, who was lodged in Lucknow jail, has been shifted to the Banda district jail. Ansari was shifted to Lucknow jail from Agra last year after his party Quami Ekta Dal (QED) merged with the Samajwadi Party in June 2016.

After annulment of the merger by the then chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, the QED merged with the BSP. Ansari won the Mau assembly seat. After the BJP’s victory in the assembly election, Ansari’s shifting to another jail was under consideration.

Talking to HT, ADG, Prison, GL Meena said, Ansari and 15 criminals were shifted to other jails. Former MLA Shekhar Tiwari, an accused in the murder of engineer Manoj Gupta, was shifted to Maharajganj jail from Barabanki.

Maulana Anwarul Haque has been shifted to Fatehgarh central jail from Bijnor jail. Jeetu has been shifted to Lakhimpur Kheri prison from Mainpuri jail. Three criminals lodged in Muzaffarnagar jail, Narendra Jagga, Bhim and Nushad have been shifted to Basti, Sitapur and Gonda jails. Anish Kala has been shifted to Ballia district jail from the Ghaziabad prison. Meena said seven notorious criminals lodged in Gorakhpur jail and six lodged in Barabanki jail have been also shifted.

On the direction of chief minister Yogi Adityanath, regular raids and checks were being conducted on the prisons across the jail, he said.

SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY DRAFTED FOR POLICE PERSONNEL

The state police have drafted a social media policy for their officers and employees. Director general of police Javeed Ahmed on Wednesday directed the heads of various police wings to ensure implementation of the policy in their respective departments. These days, a large number of cops are active on social networking sites, expressing their views, uploading photographs and sharing details of their daily activities.

Ahmed said whether policeman was on duty or not, his activities had a direct impact on the image of the police department. Policemen must ensure that there is no violation of UP Government Employees’ Conduct Rules, 1956, with activities on social networking sites. While expressing their views on the social media, the police personnel will have to clarify that they have uploaded their personal views. No government information or police operation will be shared on social media. The officers and employees should refrain from commenting on political parties or their ideology, according to the policy.