ATS, STF sleuths to monitor criminals shunted from one jail to another

ALLAHABAD: Criminals and mafiosi, who were recently shunted from one jail to another across Uttar Pradesh, will remain under special surveillance from now on.

Determined to break the back of influential criminals and dons ruling the roost from behind bars, the Yogi Adityanath government has decided to enrol services of its elite special task force (STF) and Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) to keep a vigil on these individuals.

The ATS and STF sleuths have been instructed to immediately alert the state government if any of these individuals are found indulging in anti-social activities or using mobile phones while locked in jail, said a senior UP home department official.

He said a specific directive in this regard has been issued to the UP DGP by the state government through an order from special secretary (home), UP, Satyendra Kumar Singh dated April 7, 2017.

The DG (prison administration and reform services) has also been asked to instruct all prison officials and staff to ensure strict implementation of the state government’s orders in this regard.

Principal secretary (home), UP Debashish Panda through an ‘Very Important’ missive, also dated April 7, 2017, has also ordered district magistrates (DMs) and district police chiefs including SSPs and SPs of 18 districts, to whose jails these individuals have recently been shifted, to keep a round-the-clock vigil on them.

These officials of Basti, Sitapur, Gonda, Lalitpur, Saharanpur, Jhansi, Baghpat, Muzaffarnagar, Kannauj, Farrukhabad, Balia, Agra, Banda, Khiri, Unnao, Deoria, Mirzapur and Rampur districts have also been ordered to ensure that prohibited items and mobile phones remain out of reach of these people so that they cannot execute crimes outside.

Panda has also warned of strict legal action against officials or staff concerned found to be aiding these individuals access prohibited items or mobile phones.

A number of individuals, including gangster-turned- politician Mukhtar Ansari, has been shifted from Lucknow to Banda jail. Five sharp shooters have also been sent from one prison to another. Former SP MP Atiq Ahmad, who is named in many criminal cases ranging from murder to extortion and was lodged in Allahabad’s Naini prison, has also been shifted out to Deoria jail. Umesh has been moved out from Banda prison to Rampur, Kaushlesh Tripathi to Basti jail, Shailendra aka Shailu to Deoria, Dilip Raidas from Banda to Lakhimpur Kheri and Alam Singh to Bijnore. Sachin Pandey who was in Sultanpur has also been shifted to Bijnore prison. Prem Prakash aka Munna Bajrangi lodged in Jhansi district jail is also being shunted to Pilibhit prison.

Likewise, 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 Naushad— have been shifted to Basti, Sitapur and Gonda jails respectively even as Anish Kala has been shifted to Ballia district jail from Ghaziabad prison. Seven notorious criminals lodged in Gorakhpur jail and six lodged in Barabanki jail have been also shifted during the past fortnight.

THE DG (PRISON ADMIN AND REFORM SERVICES) HAS BEEN ASKED TO INSTRUCT ALL PRISON OFFICIALS AND STAFF TO ENSURE STRICT IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GOVT’S ORDERS