Chandigarh,September 6
Takingthe Leader of the Opposition (LoP) to task over his misleading and politicallymotivated statement on the state’s law and order situation, Punjab Chief MinisterCaptain Amarinder Singh on Monday slammed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) formutilating facts in a desperate bid to win the 2022 electoral battle, whichthey can already see slipping away from their hands.
Respondingto Harpal Singh Cheema’s unfounded and baseless allegations of increasing casesof crime in the state, the Chief Minister expressed shock over the highlyirresponsible behaviour of the LoP in spreading false information based on someunsubstantiated media report. “Instead of picking up unverified data from hereand there, Cheema could have approached the DGP to get the facts, which arecompletely removed from what he has put in his press release,” said CaptainAmarinder.
Cheemahas once again proved that the AAP ideology is based on lies and fabrications,with all the leaders of Arvind Kejriwal’s party having become masters ofdeceit, quipped the Chief Minister, adding that contrary to Cheema’s claims,only 38 cases of `kidnapping for ransom’ have been reported in the state sincehis government took over in March 2017. Even those meager 38 cases (0.5%)relating to ‘kidnapping for ransom’ registered since March 2017 were solved, with the victim’s releasesuccessfully secured and culprits arrested in each of them, said the ChiefMinister, adding that even convictions have been obtained in many instances byfast tracking of criminal trials in serious cases.
This,he said, was a far cry from the 7138 incidents cited by Cheema, who evidentlycannot differentiate between kidnapping for ransom and other cases ofabduction/kidnapping. “But then, givenyour total lack of experience of governance or administration or policing, thisdoes not come as a surprise,” remarked the Chief Minister, taking a dig atCheema’s evident ignorance.
As theHome Minister of the state, Captain Amarinder said he would not mind giving afew quick tips to the LoP to save him similar embarrassment over his totalignorance in the future. The fact is that there is a whole set of criminalcases that deal with kidnapping, as registered under sections 363, 364, 364 A,365 and 366 of the IPC. These relate to Kidnapping (363), Abduction (364),Kidnapping for ransom (364 A) etc, kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel her marriage,etc.(366), Procuration of minor girl (366 A), the Chief Minister went on toexplain.
Of theremaining 7138, 87% pertained to elopement and over 10% to clashes between twoparties, which usually involve registration of kidnapping offences as peopleeither go missing on their own or elope of their own free will because they arein consensual relationships as major or minor girls, said the ChiefMinister. In many such cases, at thetime of the filing of the FIRs, the family is initially not even aware of thecause of their disappearance and therefore files a report of kidnapping orabduction, which Cheema neither knows nor has bothered to find out, he quipped.
CaptainAmarinder further went on to rebut Cheema’s claims on the kidnapping for ransomcases in various districts, pointing out that as against the LoP’s claim of1032 such cases, only 3 were actually reported in Ludhiana, with all casessolved. Similarly, in Amritsar Commissionerate and district, only 2 cases wereof ‘kidnapping for ransom’ were reported, while in Jalandhar district, therewas actually not a single case of `kidnapping for ransom’, as against the 619claimed by the LoP, he added.
Closerhome, in district Mohali, out of the 576 FIRs registered under variouskidnapping/abduction sections, only 2 involved kidnapping for ransom. Boththese cases were traced and challans put in court. The balance pertained toelopement of minor girls, disclosed the Chief Minister. As for Patialadistrict, only 2 of the 470 kidnapping cases registered were related to ransom,he added.
Thelaw and order situation in Punjab is currently among the best in the country,said Captain Amarinder, trashing Cheema’s claims to the contrary. In fact, he pointed out, as per the IndiaToday - State of States Report, 2020, Punjab was ranked as the number 1 statein the country for best performance in Law & Order. The ranking of Punjab'sLaw & Order has improved Year onYear from rank 5 (2018) to rank 2 (2019) to rank 1 (2020), since his governmenttook over, added the Chief Minister.
On theLoP’s allegation of nexus between the ruling party leaders, administrative andpolice officials with criminals in Punjab, Captain Amarinder said suchcollusions only take place in AAP, whose national convenor Arvind Kejriwal wasseen openly hobnobbing with people of militant and criminal background duringthe run-up to the 2017 Assembly elections.
Thanksto the free hand they have, the Punjab Police, under DGP Dinkar Gupta, hassuccessfully restored the peace of the state, where people today feel safe andsecure, with gangsters, terrorists, drug dealers etc either neutralized orforced to flee, said the Chief Minister. From solving the cases of targetedkillings to cracking down on Pak-backed forces trying to revive militancy anddisturbing the communal harmony of the state, the police department hasachieved remarkable success, he pointed out.
CaptainAmarinder further nailed Cheema’s lies on industrial development, pointing outthat the last 4+ years had witnessed the realization of Rs 91,000 croreinvestment on ground. AAP’s frustrated attempts to undermine these achievementsthrough lies and fabrications will not only fail but will once again backfireon them as had happened in 2017, he warned the LoP.