Amritsar cops clueless as crime goes up
Gang wars, firing incidents, murders, robberies, chain snatchings — it’s all happening in the holy city, while the police are left grappling with investigations. With such crimes happening almost every day, raising concerns about the safety of residents, the working of the city cops has also come under the scanner.
Gang wars, firing incidents, murders, robberies, chain snatchings — it’s all happening in the holy city, while the police are left grappling with investigations. With such crimes happening almost every day, raising concerns about the safety of residents, the working of the city cops has also come under the scanner.
The latest incident to create ripples is the brutal murder of a 60-year-old man on the 100 Feet Road late on Thursday night. A video grab shows that as soon as the victim, Surinder Singh, is about to enter a hospital there, another man comes from the rear and fires gunshots at him, leading to his death. To demand speedy justice and protest deteriorating law and order in the city, the victim’s kin raised slogans against the police at Chheharta Chowk on Friday.
In the past three weeks, crime has raised its head in a big way. The city has witnessed a couple of gang wars, in which two people were killed and many gunshots were fired, besides around half a dozen murders and various firing incidents.
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One of the gang wars took place near the B-division police station on May 4, in which a man was killed right in the middle of the road. Similarly, two were murdered in Chhehertta and Batala road areas.
Two days back, ` 5 lakh were snatched from a security agency employee in the Civil Lines area after pointing sharp-edged weapons at him. The robbers were caught on a closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera, but remain untraceable.
Snatching is another crime that has gone out of control, as locals and tourists fall victim to it almost every day. In fact, two snatching incidents were reported in the city on Thursday.
Although the police top brass has been holding meetings at length, nothing concrete has been done to deter criminals who are out to destroy peace in the city.
Tall claims fall flat
The tall claims of the police that surveillance has been heightened in the city seem to have fallen flat. Although Amritsar police commissioner Amar Singh Chahal has talked about setting up ‘nakas’ and stepping up patrolling, crimes keep happening not just at night, but in broad daylight too.
The state government, too, has claimed many times that Amritsar will be made hi-tech by installing CCTV cameras. With nothing happening on that front, cops are forced to ask traders and residents to install cameras outside their houses and shops.