BJP concerned over 'worsening' law and order in Punjab

Chandigarh, Dec 7 (IANS) Punjab BJP President Sunil Jakhar on Sunday expressed concern over the "continuously worsening" law and order situation in the state, saying only the BJP has the strong will and capability to rein in the "black sheep" within the police.  

"If given the opportunity such uniformed extortionists would be strictly dealt with and peace would be restored in the state," Jakhar told the media here.

He said on November 7 in Tarn Taran, AAP national Convener Arvind Kejriwal had warned gangsters to leave Punjab within seven days or face consequences.

"But instead of leaving, gangsters have openly accepted his challenge and are committing crimes every single day, while Kejriwal himself has not been seen in Punjab since then," he said.

Sharing a list of crime incidents in the past month, he said, hardly a day has passed without a shocking crime carried out by gangsters.

Raising questions, he said, "All this is happening despite Punjab having 17 DGP-rank and 13 ADGP-rank officers. By comparison, Haryana has just one DGP."

BJP leader Jakhar said after the "failure" of the Land Pooling Policy, those in power have deployed the police for illegal extortion activities.

He said, "Police officers, who are accountable to the Constitution, have bowed before the ruling party and are now engaged in undemocratic tasks such as helping AAP leaders in rigging elections as well as pressuring residents for illegal collection of money."

Referring to an incident where gangster Lawrence Bishnoi's interview was conducted from jail, Jakhar said the Director General of Police (DGP) had submitted an affidavit in the High Court claiming that the interview did not take place in Punjab.

"But in an investigation supervised by the High Court, it has been proven that it did happen here in Punjab only," Jakhar added.

He said in the recent Patiala SSP viral audio case, police hastily labelled the audio as AI-generated within just two hours, without any inquiry, and instead issued summons to journalists and political leaders.

Calling this concerning for the media and political fraternity, he said there should have been an impartial investigation first, but the police have become a "tool of the government".

He urged all political parties and media organisations to unite against this "injustice".

--IANS

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