Ghazipur incident unfortunate, some elements disturbing environment: Piyush Goyal

It is unfortunate that Bulandshahr and Ghazipur incidents happened, and some elements are trying to disturb the environment in Uttar Pradesh, said Union Minister Piyush Goyal here on Sunday, while commenting on the two incidents which claimed the lives of two police personnel and one civilian.

Speaking to media here, Goyal, however, claimed that law and order situation has improved exponentially in the state. "After Yogi Government coming to power, the law and order situation has improved and people also realise this," he said.

"All the illegal activities have stopped now. Some people have also told me that unlawful element nowadays feel better to stay behind the bars rather than being out of the jail. I think such a law and order situation is being witnessed for the first time in Uttar Pradesh," he added.

He also referred to the incidents from the past to substantiate his claims of improved law and order, citing that the people in the past were even afraid of filing the complaints.

"I think you are forgetting that, from the past many years, people in UP used to be afraid of filing a complaint. When I came here for the campaign in 2017, on the very first day, a businessman was murdered in Lucknow in broad daylight. During one month long campaign, when there was Samajwadi government in the state, similar murders also happened in Saharanpur and Bulandshahr," said Goyal.

Police Constable Suresh Vats was killed and two civilians were injured on Saturday after some members of a protest rally, organised by Nishad Party, allegedly hurled stones on them near Naunera area in Ghazipur. The police Constable was deployed at the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally in Ghazipur and was returning from the event when the incident took place.

In Bulandshahr violence, Inspector Subodh Kumar Singh and one civilian Sumit were killed when a mob got enraged over alleged slaughtering of cows after were found cow's carcasses in a nearby forest area.

So far 19 people have been arrested in three different cases related to Ghazipur violence, including 11 in the case of murder.