High Court strict on gangsterism in Punjab, DGP summoned.
State Bureau, Chandigarh. Punjab and Haryana High Court has taken a tough stand on the growing gangster culture, glorification of crime and continuous target killing in Punjab. The court clearly said that if in such circumstances the court will not summon the reply then who will? In view of these serious circumstances, the High Court has ordered the DGP of Punjab to appear in person at the next hearing.
During the hearing, the court remarked that the crime has been glorified by interviews of gangsters like Lawrence Bishnoi. The court said that earlier also the government had been given instructions to control this, but despite this, Kabaddi player and promoter Rana Balachauria was publicly murdered in Sohana.
The court raised serious questions on the security arrangements at the time of the incident. It was told by the government that around 900 to 1000 people were present during the Kabaddi match and the murder took place at 5.55 pm. The High Court asked whether CCTV cameras were installed there and how many policemen were deployed for security. The government said that 10 armed policemen were present at the spot.
Commenting strongly on this, the court said that it is a very serious matter that only two shooters ran away after openly opening fire in a crowd of thousands of people. This raises questions on the law and order situation of the entire state. SP Investigation, Mohali Saurav Jindal, who was involved in the investigation of the case, was also present in the court. The High Court asked him how only two people managed to escape after committing murder. The government said that the organizers had deployed 40 private security personnel on their behalf. The court also questioned whether any DSP was present there as the chief guest and what should be the security protocol at the government level when such a large-scale program is organised.
The court said that the law and order situation in the state is bad and if the court does not seek answers in such cases then who will? The government was asked to file an affidavit, but the court made a sharp comment and asked whether only an affidavit can save from such situations. The court also questioned why all the shooters had not been arrested yet.
Advocate Tanu Bedi, who is assisting the High Court in the case, said that until the alleged nexus of gangsters and police is not broken, such incidents will not stop. The High Court also asked why gangsters are so active in Punjab, whereas such news comes relatively less in Haryana. The court reminded that about a year ago, the government was ordered to give information about the steps taken to control organized crime, extortion and target killing, but the murder of Kabaddi promoter and team organizer Rana Balachauria on December 15 in the presence of thousands of people shows a serious failure.
The court said that many such cases of target killing have come to light, which raise serious questions on the law and order situation of the state. Therefore, on the next hearing, the DGP of Punjab should himself appear in the court and tell what were the security arrangements on the day of the incident, what steps are being taken to arrest the criminals and what is the concrete plan to prevent such incidents in future.
Besides, it has also been asked to answer on sports events being organized without adequate security. The next hearing of the case will be on January 15. In the end, the High Court said that it is concerned about the safety of every citizen of Punjab and the government should also consider it as its supreme responsibility.