NEW DELHI: One of the major issues in the Bihar Assembly elections is protecting the state from what is often described as “jungle raj” the collusion between power and the criminal mafia. It is well-documented that during Lalu Yadav’s rule, the nexus between politicians and criminals deepened, as numerous credible reports and books revealed. As a newspaper editor during that period, I personally witnessed many such incidents and reported on them extensively in newspapers and weekly magazines.
Today, when discussions about a crime-free governance model arise, comparisons are often made with the strict decisions and police actions taken in Uttar Pradesh under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and at the Centre under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. Questions, however, continue to surface regarding police “encounters” should criminals be eliminated by bullets instead of facing the court of law? Are caste or communal biases influencing such actions? And have the courts in recent years delivered strong sentences to hardened criminals?
I found revealing answers to these questions in journalist and filmmaker Aniruddha Mitra’s new book The Enforcer, based on the career of Uttar Pradesh’s former Director General of Police, Prashant Kumar, known as an “encounter expert.” Kumar’s journey—from his early service days to leading the state police force offers insight into the complexities of maintaining law and order in one of India’s most volatile states.
According to the book, between July 2023 and May 2025, the UP Police secured convictions against over 93,000 individuals, including 65 death sentences, 7,800 life imprisonments, and 1,395 sentences exceeding 20 years. This disproves the belief that Indian courts fail to deliver harsh punishments when credible evidence is provided. The state’s police strength has doubled since the BJP came to power from 2 lakh to over 4 lakh personnel and the police budget has increased nearly two and a half times.
The Enforcer also delves into the strategic thinking, moral ambiguities, and thin line between the rule of law and political pressure that define police operations. Mitra, a veteran journalist who earlier wrote the bestseller 90 Days based on the Rajiv Gandhi assassination probe, brings journalistic depth and cinematic flair to the story.
Kumar’s tenure saw the creation of a “Mafia Task Force” to identify and dismantle criminal networks. He clarified that police actions were never arbitrary:
“We are not waiting in ambush. If someone fires at us, we retaliate. Our officers have also lost their lives.”
His tenure also included sensitive initiatives such as removing one lakh loudspeakers from religious places—executed impartially across all communities.
Under his leadership, 31 mafia leaders and 69 associates were convicted, many receiving life sentences. Authorities seized assets worth Rs 14,000 crore, including Rs 4,059 crore in direct confiscations, as part of the anti-mafia campaign. Additionally, under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, legal proceedings were initiated against 429 offenders.
The message is clear there is no place for the mafia. For a crime-free society, honest and courageous police officers must be protected from political interference and supported by the judiciary.
No country in the world is entirely free of crime. But officers like Prashant Kumar originally from Siwan, Bihar have shown that with determination, strategy, and moral courage, law and order can prevail. His example, and Mitra’s book, should serve as an inspiration for governments and citizens in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and across India to build a more just and peaceful society.
