New Delhi: In an unusual turn of events, the Adityanath-led government in Uttar Pradesh finds itself pushed on the defensive on the issue of police encounters and arbitrary police action. A damaging rebuke by the Allahabad high court has compounded trouble for the government in Lucknow, at a time when its own state ministers have asked sharp questions of it.The political and legal pressure on the government converged this week following a scathing observation by Justice Vinod Diwakar of the Allahabad high court in a judgment dated June 3. “The vertical loyalty of officers runs not toward the Constitution but toward the ruling dispensation. Field officers, acutely conscious of the transfer-posting economy, calibrate their conduct to satisfy political superiors,” the court said.“Encounter killings, selective crackdowns, and targeted use of the Gangsters Act against inconvenient individuals have periodically attracted judicial notice.”Justice Diwakar’s devastating appraisal of the state of the police under Adityanath came while quashing the entire proceedings under the Gangsters Act against a man, his son and daughter-in-law in Ghaziabad.The court’s remarks could not have come at a worse time for the Adityanath-led government. It directly coincides with a fierce political backlash and pressure the government is facing following the recent killing of a 28-year-old man, Kamlesh Bind, in an alleged “encounter” in Ghazipur late on June 3.Not just the opposition, even members of Adityanath’s own government, in particular a crucial ally, Sanjay Nishad, are questioning the alleged encounter killing, in a rare public fracture of the ruling alliance.Kamlesh Bind, associated with the Samajwadi Party, was killed late on June 3 after being wanted in connection with the recent murder of a hotelier’s son, Vineet Rai. Bind’s family has accused the police of executing him in a staged “encounter” while police say they fired three shots at Kamlesh in retaliation and self-defence.Sanjay Nishad, a cabinet minister and president of BJP ally Nishad Party, is leading the charge in championing the grievances of the Bind family. Binds are a traditionally riverine and fishing community, part of the larger Mallah and Nishad groups. Sanjay Nishad’s party claims to be their political voice. The support of the Mallah-Nishad community, along with that of other backward castes, has been key to the BJP’s electoral success in UP in the last few elections. Any dent to that could be detrimental to the BJP’s plans of uniting the non-Yadav OBC communities under its banner.On June 6, Nishad not only spoke out openly against the Ghazipur “encounter,” he also met Adityanath at his official residence and demanded a high-level Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the killing. Adityanath is not only the executive head of the state but the home department, which controls the police, directly falls within his remit.Nishad said that Bind’s killing was a “matter of widespread public discussion and public sentiment” and to clarify all the facts of the case and “further strengthen public confidence in justice,” it was essential that an impartial investigation be conducted. “Local residents and family members are raising various concerns and questions about the incident, leading to discontent and confusion in the area,” Nishad said in his memorandum to Adityanath.Sanjay Nishad’s letter to Uttar Pradesh CM Adityanath.In a separate statement, Nishad also linked the discontent within his community over the encounter to next year’s assembly election. He warned that some officers were “needlessly creating an atmosphere of hostility” against the government. “By antagonizing the community associated with one of the government’s alliance partners during an election year, you are ensuring electoral losses,” said Nishad.The OBC leader also targeted the police for lodging a criminal case against Bind’s family and threatening to slap them with the National Security Act for staging a protest with his body and allegedly pelting stones at police. “We stand with the government to protect our community, but if you act as a predator rather than a protector, we will be forced to reconsider our stance,” said Nishad.The main opposition Samajwadi Party has questioned the authenticity of the encounter and accused the police of staging the killing. SP MP Dimple Yadav asked that if the police could have arrested Bind, why “was the encounter carried out?” This in itself, raised questions about the state’s law and order situation, she said.SP’s MP from Ghazipur Afzal Ansari on June 7 visited the Bind family and promised to stand with them. “If there was an allegation against Kamlesh Bind, and you caught him, you should have charged him and got him sentenced to life on the basis of evidence and witnesses. You could have even hanged him till death if the FIR was proven right. Who are you to shoot him and kill him?” asked the MP.‘If someone is found guilty, action will be taken’UP’s deputy chief minister and most recognisable OBC face in UP, Keshav Prasad Maurya, while dismissing the opposition’s stance, was open to an investigation into the Ghazipur encounter. “This matter will also be investigated separately. If there has been any negligence or if such an incident was caused deliberately, that aspect will be examined and considered,” said Maurya in Prayagraj.Maurya stated that it was normal for police to retaliate against someone if they attacked the police. “Many criminals get killed in such actions. But if any complaint is received, it shall be investigated and if someone is found guilty, action will be taken,” he said. It is no secret that since 2017, Maurya has been Adityanath’s chief competitor to the CM’s post. He often tries to project himself as the voice of the OBC community, exposing caste and personality faultlines within the ruling BJP.Kamlesh Bind’s family has alleged that he was picked up by the police and kept in custody for a day, where he was beaten, before being taken to a secluded place and shot dead in a staged event. Kamlesh received a gunshot injury to his chest, police said.Bind’s family and supporters have also accused the police of bias, as the main accused in the Vineet Rai murder and the alleged kingpin of the WhatsApp-based “Katra gang” behind the crime, Shankar Pandey, is still out of police hands. Pandey is a Brahmin.Nishad argued that if anyone had to be killed in an encounter, it should have been Pandey and not Bind. “I clearly believe that the criminal has no caste. If Kamlesh Bind had committed any crime, he should have been punished as per the legal process,” said Nishad.The cabinet minister, who holds the fisheries department portfolio, dared the police to invoke the NSA against Bind’s family. “The Ghazipur police should bear in mind the well-known history of the Nishad community in Ghazipur. You speak of invoking the NSA as if it were a draconian law. The British committed similar injustices against our community under the Criminal Tribes Act, and today you are doing the very same thing. If you intend to invoke the NSA, we challenge you – UP’s jails will fall short of space,” he said.Omar Rashid is an independent journalist.