Crime out of control under BJP rule, says Hooda; cites NCRB data

Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today launched a sharp attack on the BJP-led Haryana Government, alleging a collapse of law and order and saying residents no longer feel safe. “The graph of crime has been continuously going up ever since the BJP came to power,” he said at a press conference. “Crime has become so out of control that it seems that the mafia, and not the government, is running the state. Haryana, which was known for prosperity and greenery during the Congress tenure, is now known for hooliganism and bullets.”

Hooda cited the Social Progress Index (SPI) report of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council to claim Haryana has been described as the “most insecure state in the country.” He said “the NCRB report also states the same.”

Quoting annual crime data, Hooda said: “Within a year, 1,020 murders took place in the state, that is, three murders every day. During this period, 1,786 rape cases were reported in Haryana, or 4-5 rapes took place every day.” On crimes against women, he said: “16,743 cases came to light within a year, or 46 cases were registered every day. With a crime rate of 118.7, Haryana ranks first in the country.”

Linking rising criminal intimidation to economic fallout, Hooda alleged that “more than 100 incidents of theft, robbery, dacoity, ransom and kidnapping take place every day in the state.” He said because of “fear of ransom, threats and miscreants,” contractors “did not even bid for half the liquor contracts” this year and that “the government could not find contractors for 300 vends in 12 districts, because the miscreants had openly threatened the contractors.”

Recalling his tenure, Hooda said the law-and-order situation in Haryana “was the same even before 2005,” but added: “As soon as the Congress government came to power, a clear warning was given to the miscreants that either quit crime or leave Haryana. We did not just say this, but also implemented it. The Congress government had completely wiped out gangsters, mafia and miscreants from the state.”

Haryana Tribune