Leg shooting, often referred to as the ‘half encounter’, has emerged as a trend in police operations in Uttar Pradesh (UP), with over 6,000 criminals and suspects injured in this manner in the last seven-and-a-half years of the Yogi Adityanath government. The latest such case comes from communal clashes in Bahraich that led to the death of 22-year-old Ram Gopal Mishra and two accused being shot in the leg by police personnel after they allegedly tried to escape from custody. The issue has escalated into a political fray, with the Samajwadi Party questioning the Yogi Adityanath government’s law-and-order record, while the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party condemned the SP for “criminal sympathies”.
The Bachreich case
Muhammad Talib (28) and Muhammad Sarfaraz (32) were taken to Nanpara area to recover a weapon believed to have been used in Mishra’s murder. According to police, the two men opened fire in an attempt to escape, prompting officers to respond, injuring both. “When the police were taking the five arrested accused for smuggling weapons near the India-Nepal border, the two accused tried to escape. Shots were heard as they tried to escape. During this, Muhammad Sarfaraz and Muhammad Talib were injured. Abdul Hamed, Fahim and Abdul Afzal were arrested. A total of five accused have been arrested,” Director General of Police (DGP) Prashant Kumar said.
Violence erupted on October 13 in the Maharajganj area of Bahraich after a Durga idol procession passed through a Muslim-majority neighborhood. Tensions flared when some residents allegedly demanded that the music accompanying the procession be turned off. A heated argument escalated into stone-pelting between two groups, leading to the death of 22-year-old Ram Gopal Mishra, who was allegedly shot dead at Abdul Hamed’s house.
Hamed (62), his sons Sarfaraz and Mohammad Fahim, along with Talib and Mohammad Afzal were arrested. Authorities have indicated that the National Security Act (NSA) could be applied against the accused and investigations continue to uncover further details surrounding the deadly clashes.
The Amethi case
This ‘half-meeting’ came almost 12 days after the accused in the Amethi murder case met a similar fate. Chandan Verma, who was accused of killing four members of a family on October 3, was shot and injured in his leg by a police team on October 5.
In a statement, police said Chandan was arrested on October 4. He grabbed a police weapon and fired at the police team in an attempt to escape from custody. Chandan was injured in retaliatory police firing, the statement said. The incident occurred while he was being taken to find the murder weapon, the police said. “While being escorted to retrieve the weapon used in the murder, Chandan Verma grabbed Sub-Inspector Madan Kumar’s gun and attempted to attack the police team. In response, the officers fired, wounding him in the leg. Verma was admitted to district hospital Gauriganj for treatment after the incident,” said Harendra Kumar, Additional Superintendent of Police, Amethi.
These “half encounters” often involve serious crimes and law enforcement uses non-lethal force to subdue the accused. One such case took place on September 20 when Ajay Yadav, alias DM, wanted in a jewelery heist case worth Rs 1.5 crore in Sultanpur, was arrested after an encounter with the Special Task Force (STF). The gunfight took place near Shrimti Shobhavati Devi Balika Inter College, Sultanpur, where Yadav was shot twice in the leg and hospitalized. He absconded from the robbery on August 28, 2024.
Similarly, in September, Shahban, accused of raping a minor Dalit girl in Raipati Chiraindapur, Ayodhya, was injured in an encounter during a police search operation. While allegedly trying to escape, Shahban opened fire on the police, leading to a retaliatory fire that left him with a leg injury. He was detained and taken to the regional hospital.
A string of “half dates”
During the seven-and-a-half-year rule of the Yogi Adityanath government, Uttar Pradesh witnessed around 12,960 police encounters, marking a significant shift in the state’s law enforcement approach.
These operations resulted in the deaths of approximately 200 listed criminals and 17 police officers. According to UP police data, Meerut zone recorded the highest number of encounters where 66 criminals were killed, followed by 21 in Varanasi zone and 16 in Agra zone.
Since March 2017, around 27,000 criminals have been arrested across the state and 1,601 have been injured in encounters. The crackdown was large-scale, but it also took its toll on law enforcement, with 1,600 police officers injured during these operations.
These figures underscore the state’s aggressive stance on crime under the Yogi Adityanath administration, observers say. However, the pattern also led the opposition to launch an attack on the BJP government, calling the meetings a tool of the administration to cover up its failures.
A political quarrel
After the semi-meeting in Bahraich, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav criticized the Uttar Pradesh government. “This incident was an administrative error. The government resorted to meetings to cover up its shortcomings. If the meetings were really improving law and order in the state, Uttar Pradesh would be far ahead of other states,” the SP chief said.
Harish Chandra Srivastava, senior spokesperson of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, categorically disowned Akhilesh. He said that it was during Akhilesh’s father Mulayam Singh Yadav’s time as CM that most of the police encounters and actions against criminals took place. He also questioned why the SP always looks hurt when action is taken against criminals, pointing out that several Samajwadi leaders have been involved in serious crimes recently.
In the case, Bahraich Srivastava defended the police’s approach, saying that in situations where criminals are trying to escape, such measures are necessary. He said that if a bullet accidentally causes death, critics like Akhilesh will still find fault, calling it inhumane despite the need for such actions.
He urged the SP to focus on condemning criminal activities instead of playing ‘vote ki rajneeti’ (vote politics) and siding with criminals.
