Zia-ul-Haque, Mukul Dwivedi: Killings of top cops show UP's growing goon culture

The horrific violence which broke out between policemen and encroachers in Mathura in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday evening resulting in the death of two police officers, including a superintendent of police (SP) has proved that the northern state's administrative machinery has come to a standstill.

If policemen aren't safe, one can well imagine what's the safety of common man

If the lives of the law-keepers are not safe, one can well imagine the safety and security arrangements that the state can provide for its common citizens. The issue has led to the routine probe order by the government of Akhilesh Yadav while the BJP has attacked the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) but these are things that politics in India witnesses regularly. [Mathura MP Hema Malini found tweeting film photos even as her constituency saw violence]

The point is that under the SP, the entire law-keeping machinery has collapsed and this has happened more than once.

In 2013, Kunda DSP Zia-ul-Haque was killed by a mob

In March 2013, Kunda DSP Zia-ul-Haque was killed while a sub-inspector was seriously injured by a mob in the state's Pratapgarh district. Haque was killed after he had gone to control a protest against the murder of a village head and his brother in Ballipur village of Pratapgarh. The killing of three persons in the village within a gap of a few hours had led to a major tension and Haque met a tragic end when he led a police team to tackle the protesters.

The killing took place in the turf of Raja Bhaiya, an influential politician of the state and five-time MLA from Kunda, and Haque's kin had accused him of having a hand in the murder.

Besides these two murders of policemen, UP also saw humiliation of an IAS officer who took on the sand mafia

The killings of two ranked police officers (Haq and Mukul Dwivedi on Thursday) in three years reflect on a sorry state of affairs in Uttar Pradesh. In the meantime, we also had the disappointing story of Durga Shakti Nagpal, an IAS officer who faced wrath for taking on the powerful sand mafia as the SDM of Gautam Budh Nagar.

These episodes point out the fact that the administrative machinery of the state which is supported by civil and police officers have shown serious signs of fracture within it, allowing the goon culture to expand its tentacles at an alarming rate.

If the goon culture is not checked now, future governments of UP will have tough times

If the culprits are not brought to the law fast, then there is no guarantee that such tragedies will not be repeated and the future governments of the state will also find it extremely difficult to put the genie back in the bottle.