Lucknow, April 18 (IANS) Days after gangster Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were gunned down by three youth while in police custody in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Tuesday that no mafia or criminal can threaten industrialists in the state anymore.
The Chief Minister said: "Before 2017, the state was infamous for riots. More than 700 riots rocked the state between 2012 and 2017. But not a single riot broke out after 2017. Earlier, just the names of many districts scared people. Now there is no need to be scared.
"Few years back, there was a crisis for the identity of the state... Today the state is becoming a crisis for criminals. No criminal can threaten any businessman in the state any more."
Adityanath was addressing a programme to mark the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for setting up textile parks in Lucknow and Hardoi districts. The textile parks are being set up under the PM Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) scheme.
After day-long exchange of heated arguments between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the saffron camp on BJP's alleged 'offer' to Manish Sisodia, a source in the AAP said that Sisodia has the recording of the 'offer' made by the BJP.
Congress leader and former Punjab Food and Supply Minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu on Monday was arrested by a team of the Vigilance Bureau from Ludhiana city in the alleged tender allotment scam. He is the second minister from the previous government who has been arrested by the AAP government on charges of corruption.
The allegations against Sisodia are that liquor businessmen were allegedly given exemption of Rs 30 crore, and the licence holders were allegedly given extension as per their own will.
The Dwarka police have arrested 11 Nigerian nationals, who had been living illegally in national capital's Mohan Garden area of the district. The arrests were carried out jointly by Dwarka police ATS and Anti-Narcotics Cell teams.
Rajesh Vishwakarma, the victim's brother, told reporters: "My brother was beaten up by his teacher because of school fees of Rs 250 per month. I had paid it online but the teacher did not know and brutally beat up my brother."
Accordingly, no live or dead pig, including feral or wild pigs, unprocessed pig meat, feed or any material or goods from the piggery farm or backyard piggery shall be taken out of or brought into the infected zone and no person shall bring or attempt to bring into market any pig or pig products which is known to be infected with the scheduled disease.