Dozens of criminals trying to enter 15th UP Assembly

Lucknow, Mar 20 (UNI) More than two dozen criminals are trying to enter the 15th UP Assembly as Independents.

Mumbai blast accused Abu Salem was the first to announce his candidature from Mubarakpur assembly seat in Azamgarh district but his name does not figure in the voters' list. His lawyers are still hopeful and contesting his claim in court. Azamgarh goes to polls only in the seventh and last phase -- May 8. The don, at present lodged in the Arthur Road prison in Mumbai had already announced to contest from Saraimeer constituency, his native place but it is a reserved seat.

Another don Om Prakash Srivastava alias Babloo Srivastava, who unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections from Sitapur seat has announced that he would contest the Assembly poll from Kayasthya dominated Lucknow(central)seat.

Babloo is at present lodged in the Barielly central jail and frequently visits Lucknow in connection with several criminal cases.

Mukhtar Ansari (Mau), Dhananjay Singh (Rari, Jaunpur) and Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiyya (Kunda, Pratapgarh), who have already crossed over to politics, may make the next assembly. Mohammad Ashraf, the main accused in the murder of Raju Pal, BSP MLA from Allahabad (West) and younger brother of Atiq Ahmed, Samajwadi Party MP from Phoolpur, will be contesting from the same constituency. He has several other criminal cases against him.

Ashraf was defeated by Rajupal in the last Assembly elections.

While these are prominent names, the list taken out by the various political parties till now have many candidates with criminal antecedents despite claims to the contrary by party leaders.

Sanjeev Maheshwari alias Jeeva, another accused in the BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai murder case, is also planning to contest from Muzzafarnagar. Jeeva is currently lodged in jail but continues to run his extortion racket from there, Special Task Force sources said.

Seema Parihar, the female accomplice of slain dacoit Nirbhay Gujjar, is also contesting from Mirzapur on a Indian Justice Party (IJP) ticket. She said she chose this constituency as Phoolan Devi had contested (for Lok Sabha) from here.

Abhay Singh, another criminal who is close to Mukhtar Ansari, had contested from Ayodhya, Faizabad in the last elections and will be contesting this time too. A small time criminal, Sushil Mooch, is likely to fight the elections from Muzzafarnagar. Mahendra Singh Bhatti, a convict jailed in Bulandshaher in a murder case, is also planning to contest from the district. He was in the news recently when his fake phone conversation with Union Minister of State for Home, Manikrao Gavit, hit the headlines a few months ago.

Independent MLA Mukhtar Ansari is planning to field candidates from many east UP constituencies. ''If some of his candidates win, it would push him into a bargaining position,'' a senior policeman stated.

Some of the criminals are contesting by proxy as their relatives have been given the ticket. For example, Banda dacoit Dadua's brother, Bal Kumar, will contest the elections. Other relatives of Dadua may also get a ticket.

The situation in western UP is alarming with more than 300 gangsters, with rewards on their heads, still at large. The area has earned notoriety for crime.

Muzaffarnagar district tops the list with 91 such gangsters, while Saharanpur boasts of 16. Most criminals are engaged in kidnapping for ransom and contract killings, according to information available with the police here.

The DGP office in the state capital claims that around 30 big gangs are engaged in kidnapping for ransom in the Meerut zone itself. Gangs of Ravindra Bheva, Pramod Bhadoria and Bijendra Pramukhia are the most notorious. While some of these also support politicians, they are still active in their 'traditional job.' But wary police officials said while major rewards had been announced on many criminals, several others were at large. Officials fear they could turn up around the election date and create law and order problem.

At least 273 gangsters carrying rewards are listed in the six districts of Meerut zone -- Meerut, Bulandshahr, Ghaziabad, Baghpat, Muzaffarnagar and Saharanpur. Of these, 68 are in Meerut, 211 in Ghaziabad, 25 in Bulandshahr, 53 in Baghpat, 91 in Muzaffarnagar and only 16 in Saharanpur. Before becoming a part of Uttaranchal, the temple town of Hardwar was also a part of the zone.

Known for gang wars, Jatan Sirohi and Sensar Pal are listed in Bulandshahr police records while another known criminal of the area, Vikas Yadav was gunned down in an encounter last year. Islam Thakur, Balram Singh, Yogesh Kumar and Kale alias Bhura are the other gangsters active in the area.

Sugar economy is the lifeline of Western Uttar Praedsh, worth approximately Rs 1,500 crore. Although share of sugarcane farmers in this economy is declining, police said the upbeat economy lures several into the world of kidnappings for ransom and road hold-ups.

UNI