The bulldozer, which resonated across Uttar Pradesh through the campaign of BJP’s Yogi Adityanath, is now playing a key role in attempts by the police to instil a fear of law among criminals and miscreants. In one such instance reported from Pratapgarh district in the state, the fear of bulldozer forced an absconding rape accused to surrender.

According to reports, a man who used to run a lavatory near Pratapgarh Railway Station was accused of raping a woman inside the toilet. The woman approached the police to lodge a complaint and the incident of rape was proved in the medical test. The police soon swung into action and launched a search for the accused who was found absconding.

Since he was not present in his house and the police failed to find him in its search operation, they parked a bulldozer outside his home and warned his family members that if the accused doesn’t surrender within 24 hours, they will raze down his house.

The information found its way to the accused, who subsequently informed the police about his whereabouts and was arrested from the location.

Legally, the administration uses bulldozers primarily under two circumstances. The first is to demolish an illegal construction and free up the government land encroached upon. The second use case is against an absconding criminal where the police demolish his ill-gotten property. However, this is probably the first time that the police are making clever use of the bulldozer to help them nab criminals.

The Yogi Adityanath government campaigned aggressively banking on the improvement of the law and order situation in the state among other poll planks during the recently held Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. In fact, bulldozers were used for campaigning during some rallies of Yogi Adityanath.