New Delhi, May 19 -- The Yogi Adityanath-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Uttar Pradesh 'neutralised' 289 dreaded criminals in police encounters in last nine years, an official statement has revealed.

Since 2017, when Yogi Adityanath became chief minister for the first time, the police have conducted of 17,043 encounter operations, arresting 34,253 criminals, the statement said. As many as 11,834 criminals were injured in these encounters, under the government's zero-tolerance policy, it said.

17,043 encounters in nine years is about five encounters each day in Uttar Pradesh, going by the government data.

Yogi Adityanath was sworn in as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh on 19 March 2017, after BJPs' landslide victory. The B...