Varanasi: Uttar Pradesh DGP Rajeev Krishna on Sunday said that the special investigation team was formed to probe into the allegations of irregularities in the Ram temple donation funds on the request of the Temple Trust.Talking to reporters after chairing a meeting of the standing committee on Kashi Vishwanath Gyanvapi in Varanasi, the DGP said, “All religious institutions have their own trusts and arrangements and systems to run it. Naturally, if any complaint comes to the police, then it is investigated.”“The Ram Temple Trust requested for the constitution of an SIT to probe allegations. Taking note of the demand, the state govt formed an SIT,” he said.Speaking on the extradition of the kingpin of multi-crore codeine cough syrup smuggling syndicate, Shubham Jaiswal, who is said to be hiding in Dubai, Krishna said that according to the mechanism of India’s mutual legal agreement and treaties with several countries for the extradition of criminals, all necessary legal formalities have been completed.“As extradition of a fugitive takes time, the process of declaring the deposits of fugitive and his gang members as lien amount has been completed to ensure that it is not siphoned off and the victims don’t suffer any loss,” he said.Regarding the measures being initiated to tackle the traffic challenges in Varanasi, specifically after the opening of Kashi Vishwanath Dham in Dec 2021, he said that a scheme has been launched in 20 districts with technical support from Google.“We have identified 230 corridors in the state, including 11 in Varanasi, which are most affected by traffic problems. We receive data dynamically and automatically through Google on weekly, fortnightly and monthly basis to find average time of commuting in peak and lean hours to initiate necessary measure for improvement,” he said.“After two months of this exercise, the number of choke points decreased by about 24% across the state,” he said, adding that the maximum time taken in travelling between two destinations in peak hours reduced to 17%. Feedback of public representatives was also positive in case of Varanasi,” he added.The DGP said that the backbone of gangsters and mafia had been broken in the past 8-9 years and they would not be allowed to raise their head at any cost.“We are compiling data on gangs up to mohalla level to eliminate the menace. Cybercrime, which flourished with increasing digital monetary transactions especially after Covid-19 outbreaks in 2020 and 2021, has been taken as a prime challenge by the police,” said Krishna.“Under the guidance of chief minister Yogi Adityanath, the priority of the state police is to maintain zero tolerance towards crimes and criminals, ensure safety of women and traders, reduce accidents, and take effective action against cybercrime,” he said.
