Crime shoots up: Athletes’ Hry grapples with gangs

Chandigarh: Political murders, extortion-related killings, the rise of gangsters, and unchecked crimes against women have emerged as major hurdles for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as it eyes a third term in Haryana. Over the past five years, law and order issues have continued to plague the state.
Data shows nearly one extortion or blackmail call is reported daily, with minimal decline from the previous year, leaving the terror intact.For the first time, even the legislators received threatening calls. Between Jan 1 and Aug 31, Haryana recorded nearly one crime against women or children every hour, averaging 18 of these incidents daily, a slight improvement from the previous year’s daily average of 22.

Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar led the BJP-JJP alliance govt until March 11, followed by Nayab Saini. However, the leadership change has done little to ease concerns over crime control. Haryana’s police department saw a change in leadership with the appointment of a new DGP in Shatrujeet Singh Kapoor, but despite some decline in crime, the govt has faced criticism from the opposition. Extortion, kidnappings, and gang wars have left the state’s business community on the edge.
Haryana, previously known for its athletes, has now gained notoriety for the rise of gangsters and sharpshooters, some with links to terrorist outfits abroad. Counter-terrorism force National Investigation Agency (NIA) has conducted more than two dozen raids, and a special task force (STF) now handles the law and order situation that has emerged with the rise of these gangs.
While Kapoor’s tenure saw the introduction of stringent measures, such as the confiscation of properties linked to crime, these actions came after Haryana gangsters were linked to the assassination of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala. Two of the six shooters involved were from Haryana. National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) figures suggest that Haryana reported 1,020 murders in 2022. By Aug 31, the state had reported 675 murders, down slightly from 697 during the same period last year. The state reported nearly three murders a day this year.
Prominent incidents included the daylight murder of former MLA and state INLD (Indian National Lok Dal) president Nafe Singh Rathi, the extortion-related killing of JJP’s Ravinder Saini, and 623 attempted murders recorded by Aug 2023.
Crimes against women remain a significant issue, with 1,020 rapes, 70 attempted rapes, 1,057 cases of child abuse, 1,113 kidnappings, and 1,023 molestations reported by Aug 31. On an average, 18 crimes against women are recorded daily in the state, a slight decrease from last year’s alarming 22 a day.
In 2022, Haryana recorded 16,743 crimes against women, an average of 45 cases per day, including 1,787 rapes and 2,640 missing children, of which 1,516 were girls. The state also saw 3,783 suicides, with 61% of the victims earning less than Rs 1 lakh annually.