Akalis have criminalised Punjab, says PPCC, after SAD councillor killed journalist

Akalis have criminalised Punjab, says PPCC, after SAD councillor killed journalist

CHANDIGARH : Reacting strongly to the killing of a journalist, allegedly by a SAD councillor, the Punjab Congress on Friday accused the Akalis of criminalising Punjab.
The incident had once again proved that the Akalis had no respect for the law of the land and were not only patronising criminals but were themselves indulging freely in criminal activities, said the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) in a statement.
In their statement, PPCC leaders Avtar Henry, Amarjit Samra, Rana KP Singh and Tripit R Singh Bajwa said the complete law and order breakdown in the state was the result of its criminalisation at the hands of the Akalis.
Alleging a deep-rooted nexus between the Akali leaders and criminals who had a free run of the state under their regime, the PPCC leaders said the arrest of SAD councillor Paramjit Singh Pammi for the murder of a journalist over a financial dispute in Sangrur was the latest instance showing the extent of which the law and order machinery in the state had collapsed under the Badal rule.
The incident came close on the heels of the arrest of YAD general secretary of Malwa zone 1, Kalyan Singh, who is the son of a SGPC member. These incidents showed the total lack of fear with which the Akalis were going around committing heinous and serious crimes against the innocent people of the state, the PPCC leaders said.
Sukhchain Singh Dharampura’s son Kalyan Singh and nephew Gurpreet Singh were taken into custody on Thursday for allegedly abducting a trader from Budhlada town for ransom. Media reports have cited police as saying that Kalyan also has four cases of extortion and snatching against him.
Pointing out that the Akali-criminal nexus was extremely deep-rooted and widespread, the PPCC leaders said the worsening law and order situation in the state reflected the severity of the problem. From violence against Dalits to crime against women and children, the state’s crime graph had been on a sharp rise since the Badals took over its reins nine years ago, they said.
Akali leaders and their goons were openly threatening and attacking innocent people, and indulging in all kinds of criminal activities while the police remained mute spectators, the Punjab Congress leaders said. Just last month, on September 23, the husband of an Akali sarpanch had allegedly assaulted a five-month pregnant nurse at a private hospital in Bagapurana after being refused preferential treatment. In another incident, in June last year, SAD (Rural) Block president from Fazilka, Mahal Singh Rana, was nabbed by the Rajasthan Police with 7.5 kg of poppy husk.These incidents, said the Punjab Congress leaders, were only the tip of the iceberg. The nexus between the Akalis and the various mafias and criminals in the state was so deep that criminals of all kinds had a free rein of the state. From the drugs mafia to the illegal liquor trade and smuggling of sand across the border, everything is controlled by the Akalis, the PPCC leaders added, vowing to wipe out this nexus once the Congress is back in power in the state.

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