The STF is under scanner regarding the encounter in Uttar Pradesh. The questions arose due to Mangesh Yadav’s encounter with criminals in Sultanpur who had a bounty of Rs 1 lakh on his head. One wonders if this encounter took place without body armor and slippers. Apart from this, questions have also been raised about Mangesh Yadav’s caste. UP STF chief Amitabh Yash spoke to Aaj Tak on Tuesday and answered all the questions.
Amitabh Yash said, “STF was formed to fight against criminal elements. STF takes action according to the situation. Different types of clothes are used in forest operations. STF personnel have also worn ganji and lungi during intelligence operations .
“The officer’s shoes got stuck in the mud.”
He said: “When I spoke to the officer about the photo that was pointed out in the Mangesh Yadav encounter, he told me that the photo was from sunrise.” The police encounter incident took place at 3.30 pm. The difference between the two is about three hours. His shoes were covered in mud, so he changed into slippers from the car, police said. This is not a problem. When taking action against criminals, the STF is prepared based on time.
‘Only one criminal group’
Addressing questions about caste, he said, “Crime can be committed against anyone.” Two Rwandan Patriotic Front police officers were killed. Their names are Javed Khan and Pramod Kumar. The STF investigated the crime and had no idea before the investigation which community the deceased belonged to. A community of just men in uniform, a community of criminals, and they are just criminals.
Amitabh Yash said: “Whenever action is taken against a criminal, we try to arrest him and collect evidence against him. When the criminal shoots at the police, the police also shoot. The process is not today’s. The STF targets large criminals, so the likelihood of shooting at them is high. The STF is also prepared and trained accordingly.
He said: “In this incident, two Rwandan Patriotic Front soldiers were killed in a very brutal manner. The condition of their bodies cannot even be shared with their photos. We should not expect such a hardened criminal to easily report to the police Surrendered. A joint operation between Ghazipur police and STF tried to arrest the criminal, but he was killed.
“There is no rule in UP about out-of-order promotions.”
Regarding the accusation of out-of-sequence promotion, he said: “In the past eight years, UP has no policy of out-of-sequence promotion.” No one will be promoted out of sequence. The rewards and bonuses for apprehending a criminal are equal to those for killing a criminal in an encounter. If caught, the reward is easily earned. But if the offender dies, the reward will be awarded after the investigation is completed.
