AGRA: Between September 1, 2016 and August 31, 2017, Uttar Pradesh Police personnel had 543 encounters with criminals, killing 22 gangsters with rewards on their heads. Figures released by the UP government on the occasion of 58th ‘Police Smriti Dewas’ (Police Commemoration Day) on Saturday revealed that in these encounters 130 criminals were injured and 1,405 were apprehended. Out of the total arrested, 1080 had rewards for their capture ranging from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 500. A total of 127 policemen were injured, while seven were killed, including a sub-inspector and six constables.In total, police lost 76 men, mostly due to road accidents, illness or other reasons while on duty. In 2016, police reported 116 casualties, while 108 died in 2015. According to police records, Sub-Inspector Jai Prakash Singh was killed in an encounter with a gang of dacoits in Chitrakoot on August 24.Constable Satish Chandra Yadav , posted in Agra, was shot dead while chasing motorcycle-borne gangsters, with a colleague, on July 29. On April 8, two constables were killed. Constable Ravi Kumar Rawat posted with Dial 100 was hit and killed by a sand-laden tractor driven by a member of the sand mafia in Firozabad district, while Constable Raj Kumar Singh was shot dead by a gangster when he had gone to Pratapgarh’s Budaura village to prepare a dossier on the criminal.On April 5, Constable Ajay Kumar posted with SOG team Agra was shot dead by motorcycle-borne assailants during a chase of a criminal. On October 10, 2016, Head Constable Rakesh Sharma and Constable Vijay Kumar, sent for the protection of a family in Baghpat, were shot dead by assailants.Commemorating the martyrs, CM Yogi Adityanath said, “UP Police has played an important role in maintaining law and order and communal harmony in very extreme circumstances. This has strengthened the sense of security among the general public and has increased confidence in the police, but law and order needs more improvement.”Adityanath added, “There is still a lot to be done as the challenges are very big. Effective inhibitory and legal action has to be taken against anti-social elements who spoil communal harmony. Since UP is a big state, various terrorist outfits try to target it. To combat such elements, special SWAT teams have been set up by providing special training to ATS, including teams of Varanasi and Agra districts.”In last year, 19 terrorists of ISIS, Babbar Khalsa, Ansarullah Bangla Team and Hizbul Mujahideen and three spies of a foreign intelligence agency were arrested or killed by ATS.