Combating organised crime

The killing of two men in broad daylight at a busy location in Ambala City has raised question marks over the law and order situation in the state and also the efforts being made to control organised crime. The shooting is said to be a fallout of inter-gang rivalry, as the duo had arrived for hearing in a case registered after a clash between two gangs inside a jail some time back. Ironically, the incident coincided with a joint conference of senior police officials of Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh held to discuss ways to tackle organised crime in the region. The meeting laid emphasis on creating an institutional mechanism for a common database and share information in real time to curb organised crime, but the proliferation of gangs and their continuing activities show that the police need to walk the talk on checking crime.

Similar meetings of police officials of the region have been held earlier also after firing incidents in Chandigarh. Emphasis should be given to detection of crime and keeping tabs on monitoring the activities of those involved. That the Ambala killings happened when the two men had gone for a hearing also points to the security lapses inside court premises that need to be probed. The gangs are believed to be involved in all sorts of crime ranging from highway robberies, contract killings, extortion to kidnapping and even land grab. That they can regulate their activities from inside the jail, even posting messages on social media, shows laxity in enforcing the rules. The gangs have also turned to taking up popular causes, which indicates the unwillingness of the political leadership to fill that vacuum.

Youth turning to crime is a challenge for the governments in these states, not just from the law and order point of view, but also from a developmental perspective as the states need to create more avenues to channel the energy of the youth in a constructive way so as to wean them off such activities.