Jalandhar, October 13
The Punjab Congress has strongly condemned the murder of another youth by the liquor mafia, accusing the Badal government of spreading Jungle Raj in the state.
The party leaders alleged a complete breakdown of the law and order machinery in the state under the Akali rule, and said the murder of a youth in Jalandhar, just a day after a similar killing in Mansa, was symbolic of the total anarchy prevailing in Punjab.
In a joint statement issued here today, Jalandhar DCC (Urban) president Rajinder Berry, Jalandhar DCC (Rural) president Jagbir Brar, PPCC state vice-president and general secretary Avtar Henry and Tejinder Singh Bittu respectively, said, "Just the day before yesterday, a dalit youth, Sukhchain Singh, was brutally murdered in Mansa. And now, another youth, 28- Manish Luthra, has been done to death by a group of assailants from the liquor mafia in Jalandhar."
The district Congress leaders came down heavily on the state government, particularly Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal, who holds the Home Affairs portfolio, alleging that the state mafia was enjoying the patronage of the ruling SAD leaders. Accusing the police of standing by as mute spectators, they said, "The way the police force is functioning, it would not be wrong to say that men in Khaki have virtually turned into Akali workers, working under the SAD diktat.”
The PPCC leaders said the growing incidence of heinous crime in Punjab reflected the fact that criminals have no fear of the law and, in fact, have a free run of the state. Demanding immediate arrest of those involved in Luthra’s murder, they pointed out that, like Sukhchain Singh, he was also murdered for standing up against the liquor mafia, which was controlled by the Badals.
Lambasting the police force for playing into the hands of Akali leaders, the Congress leaders said that no one in the state was safe under the Badal regime.
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