A senior police officer in Bihar has blamed the recent spurt in crime in the state on seasonal unemployment among agricultural labourers.
ADG (law and order) Kundan Krishnan made the remarks during an interaction with journalists on Wednesday evening.
"Bihar has only two major crop seasons. As a result, during this period, most farmhands remain unemployed. Consequently, land-related clashes escalate. Some of them, especially the youth, even take up contract killings for quick money," Krishnan said.
The comment has triggered outrage on social media, with many people accusing the officer of trying to come up with an excuse for failure to control law and order.
When contacted by PTI on Thursday, he said, "Whatever I have said is backed by data. If needed, I will come up with figures to show that this period of the year witnesses a spurt in violent crimes."