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Lucknow, Aug 7: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led government is mulling to introduce the Uttar Pradesh Control of Organised Crime Act or UPCOCA, a stringent law like Maharashtra’s MCOCA, to take on the nexus between the underworld and tainted politicians. Yogi Adityanath wants to curb organised crime in Uttar Pradesh, and UPCOCA could be a significant step in this regard. The UPCOCA was first introduced by Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati in 2007 when she was the Chief Minister.
The Yogi Adityanath government is expected to introduce a bill in this regard and get it passed in both the Houses before seeking presidential assent, reported Times of India. The report further said the Chief Minister, who comes from Gorakhpur – the hotbed of crime, believes a strict law like UPCOCA can only break the nexus between criminals and tainted politicians. “Some more stringent provisions might be added to the Act,” a senior IPS officer was quoted as saying.
Mayawati-led BSP government had sent UPCOCA for presidential assent in 2017. However, the then UPA government didn’t approve it. It was then observed that since Maharashtra and Gujarat had allegedly applied the law against the minorities in the two states, the UPA did not allow it in UP. Ahead of 2009 Lok Sabha polls, Mayawati withdrew the UPCOCA because the Samajwadi Party, in opposition then, had vehemently opposed it, apprehending its “misuse”.
MCOCA was enacted by Maharashtra government in 1999 to combat organised crime and terrorism. Under MCOCA, the confessions before senior police officers are admissible. There is no provision for granting anticipatory bail for six months to the accused.
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