Early Times Report LUCKNOW, May 28: Two criminals who had allegedly returned to meet their families, one of them to celebrate Eid al-Adha at home, were arrested for violating district externment orders, police said on Thursday. Mohanlalganj police in Lucknow's southern zone made the arrests during a late-night checking drive ahead of Eid celebrations, they said. According to the police, a team was checking suspicious persons and vehicles near Kanakha turn on the intervening night of May 27 and 28 when it received information that Sarikh Khan alias Sharik (24) and Mohit Kumar (29), against whom externment orders were in force, had secretly returned to their homes. The police carried out a raid in their village, Fattekheda, and found both men outside Mohit Kumar's residence, officials said. During questioning, Sarikh Khan allegedly told police that he had come home to celebrate Bakrid, while Mohit Kumar said he had returned to meet his wife. The police said Sarikh Khan had been externed from Lucknow district for six months under an order issued on May 13 this year under the Uttar Pradesh Goonda Control Act, while Mohit Kumar had similarly been externed under an order issued on December 17, 2025. A case under sections 3 and 10 of the Uttar Pradesh Goonda Control Act has been registered against the two, police said. According to police records, both accused have multiple criminal cases registered against them, including charges related to assault, intimidation, rioting, robbery and arson. Police said strict vigil and checking operations were being carried out across the district to maintain law and order during Bakrid festivities. |