Sanjay Nishad criticizes Oppn for “politicizing” the encounter with the wanted criminal

New Delhi, September 24 (IANS): Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Minister and Nishad Party leader Sanjay Nishad on Tuesday criticised opposition parties for politicising the Ghazipur clash with a criminal.

Speaking to IANS, Sanjay Nishad refuted the opposition’s allegations that it was misusing state power as a tool to harass the “weak and downtrodden” and said it was deliberately trying to foment a controversy.

A bounty of 100,000 rupees was placed on the wanted criminal.

Nishad explained, “Caste has no meaning for criminals. When someone commits a crime, he does not see which caste he belongs to.”

“If a criminal tries to escape, he can be shot. Therefore, the opposition should stand on the side of the public instead of commenting on this matter,” he added.

Nishad’s comments come against the backdrop of opposition allegations against the BJP that it is using the clashes as a means to harass the oppressed and minorities.

Sanjay Nishad also recalled an incident in 2015 during the Samajwadi Party government when Akhilesh Nishad was killed by police during a protest in Gorakhpur.

The Cabinet Minister pointed out that a false murder complaint (302) had also been filed against him.

Nishad asked, “What did the Samajwadi Party do then? Nothing. There were many clashes then, but they did not talk about it.”

On Monday evening, police and Noida Special Task Force conducted a joint operation in Ghazipur and shot dead wanted criminal Mohammad Zahid.

Two police officers were also injured in this confrontation.

Zahid was accused of smuggling liquor and was also involved in the murder of two Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel, Javed Khan and Pramod Kumar.

On the night of August 19, RPF constables Javed Khan and Pramod were trying to stop illegal liquor smuggling in the Bikaner-Guwahati Express train when the smugglers attacked them and pushed them out of the moving train, resulting in their deaths.

Mohammad Zahid was wanted in connection with this case and a reward of Rs 100,000 had been offered for his capture.