23 accused ‘barred' from Ghaziabad under Goonda Act for 6 months

Hindustan Times

05-06-2025

Ghaziabad: The Ghaziabad police on Wednesday identified 23 people with criminal records and 'debarred them' from the district for six months in a rather unusual manner, with beating of dhols and public announcements about them.
The police said the 23 people were declared 'Goonda' under the provisions of the Uttar Pradesh (Control of Goondas) Act, 1970, after magisterial orders.
Under the Act, a person deemed 'goonda' may be ordered to remove themselves for up to two years from an area by the district magistrate. This can be done even if they haven't been formally charged, according to the law.
But the Ghaziabad police picked up cues from the traditional practice of beating drums and 'munadi' (public announcements) while leading out the accused people from their homes to the borders of the district.
'The police made a proper announcement through the public address system about the accused persons so that the public becomes aware and a clout of such a person gets broken. Thereafter, with the use of drums and dhols, a small procession was taken out, which led the suspect from their homes to the main roads. The idea was to make the public aware and demolish the clout and fear of the suspect,' said additional police commissioner Alok Priyadarshi.
The suspects, police said, have a criminal history of their involvement in different crimes like robberies, arson, rioting, causing grievous hurt, attempt to murder, cow-slaughtering, voluntarily causing hurt, possession of illegal weapons, thefts, criminal conspiracy, and issuing threats, among others.
The suspects included those from the city, rural, and trans-Hindon zones.
Till now, executive orders were passed for debarring such accused persons from the district, but the public was not aware about their activities, said the additional CP.
'In many cases, such persons would often come back to stay in the district, and it took a lot of effort to trace them again. Now, with the beating of drums and announcements in society, the public is made fully aware of such persons and their criminal record. Through announcements, the public has been requested to inform the police in case debarred persons are seen again during the period of six months. The police will completely maintain secrecy of the identity of informants,' he added.
Those debarred on Wednesday included accused persons staying under the jurisdiction of police stations areas of Loni, Crossings Republik, Tronica City, Tila Morh, Shalimar Garden, Nandgram, Modinagar, Wave City and Kaushambi.