The Tribune, April 18, 2000
Cops review crime situation
Tribune News Service
GURGAON, April 17 — Haryana and Rajasthan have decided to jointly deal with inter-state gangs of criminals who have stepped up activity in the Mewat areas of the two states in the past few years.
A few days ago, a meeting of senior officers of the two states was held to take stock of the situation. Those who attended the meeting included the Inspector-General of Police (Crime), the DIGs of Jaipur and Bharatpur ranges of Rajasthan and the IG, Gurgaon range, besides SPs of the concerned districts.
According to highly placed sources, the governments of the two states have taken cognisance of anti-social elements in Mewat taking to inter-state crimes in a big way. Some of the gangs operating from the Mewat areas have earned notoriety in the past few months.
According to a senior police officer of Haryana, the gangs which have surfaced have taken to organised crimes, especially dacoities on trucks.
On a number of occasions, they have committed crimes in states like Maharashtra and Gujarat. On certain occasions, they have also managed to forcibly take away the trucks. A few days ago, the local police arrested eight members of a gang in Punhana in the Mewat area of this district in connection with a dacoity.
In the past two years, there have been reports of kidnappings and lootings by armed persons in Hodal, Palwal and Hathin in Faridabad district. Apart from the locals of the Mewat area in Faridabad, anti-social elements from Rajasthan and some parts of Uttar Pradesh are also committing crimes.
The sources say that the Haryana police has identified 12 sensitive villages in Faridabad and Gurgaon.
Although the police is trying to play down the threat of the ISI network in the Mewat areas, the authorities in the two-states are keeping a vigil in this regard.
Recently, two residents of Mewat were nabbed in Delhi while receiving smuggled time-bombs in toys. One person was nabbed by the security forces in Jammu and a gun and some incriminating documents were seized from his house. A Pakistani national, Munner Ahmed, who was allegedly sent by the ISI for spying was arrested in Jodhpur in Rajasthan. The national had worked in a local firm as helper before being nabbed.
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