Akhilesh accuses UP govt of 'fake encounters', caste-based bias in police postings
Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday alleged that the BJP government in the state was resorting to “fake encounters” without achieving any improvement in law and order, and accused it of making caste-based postings in the police department.
“Law and order does not improve by doing fake encounters. It improves by appointing good officers in the field. When the government makes appointments only on caste basis to favour its own people, how will the law and order situation improve?” Yadav, according to a party statement, said while addressing party workers and leaders from various districts at the SP headquarters here.
The SP chief alleged that under the BJP rule, “women and daughters are not safe”, and criminal incidents such as “rape, murder and loot” occur every day.
He recalled that the Samajwadi government had launched the ‘1090 Women Power Line’ for the safety of women, which was appreciated by the Supreme Court, but had been “ruined” by the BJP government.
“The BJP spreads hatred in society and creates division. People must remain alert to the BJP. In Uttar Pradesh, criminals have a nexus with the administration. Law and order, health and education are all ruined in this government. Caste-based persecution and discrimination are at their peak. The BJP is a highly casteist party,” Yadav said.
Holding Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath responsible for the condition of rivers in the state, Yadav said, “The CM is bent on destroying Uttar Pradesh. For the deplorable state of the Gomti river and other rivers, the CM himself is responsible. The BJP government has done no work to clean rivers.
"In the Samajwadi government, we created the most beautiful riverfront on the Gomti and arranged for its cleaning, but the BJP government spoiled everything. Now when their time is over, they are pretending to clean it."
He claimed incidents of crimes against women and atrocities on Dalits are highest under the present regime.
“As long as the BJP is in power, no one can get justice. For the future of Uttar Pradesh, it is essential to remove the BJP government. Without removing it, there will be no welfare of the people,” he said.
Accusing the government of failing to provide healthcare to the poor, Yadav said, “There is a massive shortage of hospitals and doctors. In government hospitals, quality treatment and medicines are not available. Patients are forced to go to private hospitals.
"In the Samajwadi government, treatment and medicines were free for the poor. In the SP government, treatment will be free and electric wheelchairs will be given to persons with disabilities,” he added.
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Explosive device kills 13, injures 38 on bus in southwestern Colombia as violence persists
Bogota (Colombia) (PTI): An explosive device killed 13 people travelling on a bus in southwestern Colombia on Saturday, an attack the country's army chief described as a “terrorist act" that also left at least 38 injured as violence linked to drug trafficking in the region escalates.
Octavio Guzman, the governor of the region of Cauca, said on X that the device was set off while the bus was travelling along the Panamerican Highway in the municipality of Cajibio. Five children were among the injured, Cauca Health Secretary Carolina Camargo told Noticias Caracol, a TV news program.
Gen. Hugo Lopez, commander of Colombia's Armed Forces, told a news conference that it was a “terrorist act" and blamed the network of a man known as “Ivan Mordisco” — one of Colombia's most wanted figures — and the Jaime Martínez faction. Both are dissidents of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that operate in the region.
Neither Ivan Mordisco nor the Jaime Martínez faction abide by the peace agreement signed with the state in 2016.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the attack on X.
“Those who carried out the attack and killed seven civilians — and wounded 17 others — in Cajibío — many of them Indigenous people — are terrorists, fascists, and drug traffickers,” he wrote.
The attack is the latest in a spate of explosions that have attempted to target public infrastructure. At least 26 incidents have taken place in the past two days in southwestern Colombia, which Lopez said have only affected civilians.
They included a shooting at a police station in the rural area of Jamundi, and an attack on a Civil Aviation radar facility in El Tambo, where authorities took down three explosives-laden drones earlier on Saturday. No one was hurt.
On Friday, two vehicles rigged with explosives were detonated near military units in Cali and Palmira, causing material damage.
The escalation of violence in that region — a territory contested by illegal armed groups linked to drug trafficking — prompted the mobilisation of high-ranking officials on Saturday. Led by Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez, the delegation that includes regional governors and local authorities, was meeting in Palmira when the deadly explosion occurred.
“These criminals seek to instil fear, but we will respond with firmness,” Sanchez said on X.
Meanwhile, Francisca Toro, governor of Valle del Cauca, has called upon the national government to provide “immediate support.” In a message on X, Toro called for a reinforcement of public security forces, enhanced intelligence operations and “decisive actions” against crime in the face of a “terrorist-level escalation.”
According to authorities, Cauca and Valle del Cauca serve as a critical hub for illicit activities of illegal armed groups vying for control over sea and river access routes leading to the port of Buenaventura — a key transit point used to traffic drugs to Central America and Europe.
The government has also offered a reward of more than 1 million dollars for information leading to the capture of “Marlon,” who is identified as the leader of the region's dissident group. On Friday, local authorities offered more than USD 14,000 for information leading to the identification and location of those behind the attacks in Cali and Palmira.
