Mob Lynchings Didn't Happen in UP Because We Shut Down Illegal Slaughterhouses: Yogi Adityanath

Lucknow, July 27: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday said that had his governenment not shut down illegal slaughterhouses, the state would have witnessed maximum number of mob lynchings. Yogi Adityanath repeated what Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said in Lok Sabha and said that the 1984 riot in Delhi was the worst case of mob lynching.

“Had we not closed down illegal slaughter houses in UP, there would have been maximum number of moblynching in Uttar Pradesh. We are happy that no such incident took place here," Adityanath said in an interview. “It should be obligatory on every state to crack down on such incidents. However, people should respect each other’s sentiments," the chief minister added.

Speaking on anti-romeo squad, Yogi Adityanath said his government was serious about safety of women in the state. “In the previous regime, girl students felt insecure as crowd of hooligans stood outside their schools. All such things have now stopped," he was quoted as saying. He further said the crackdown on criminals was necessary "to instil a sense of confidence in the people".

Several people have lost their lives in the past one year by lynch mobs after rumours of child lifting triggered via messages on WhatsApp. Rajnath Singh for the first time admitted in the Lok Sabha on July 19 that fake news on social media has resulted in many mob lynching incidents in the country.

The Supreme Court also issued 22 guidelines this week for the central and state governments to put an end to "horrendous acts" of vigilantism, lynching and mobocracy and directed them to work in tandem to take "preventive, remedial and punitive measures".

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 27, 2018 09:59 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).