The Tribune, November 9, 1999
CM: act tough with anti-social elements
From Ravi S. Singh
Tribune News Service
GURGAON, Nov 8 — The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala has directed the district administrations and the police to improve the law and order situation by dealing firmly with the anti-social elements, who have bases in the bordering states.
The Chief Minister had issued the directive to the district administration, a few days ago, after reviewing the law and order situation. This was followed up at his joint meeting with the Deputy Commissioners and the police chiefs on November 3. In his directive to the district authorities,the Chief Minister is understood to have made it known that in pursuing criminal cases they should ignore even his Indian National Lok Dal leaders who possibly tried to intervene.
The government feedback is that several gangs from UP, Rajasthan and Delhi were operating in different parts of Haryana, either independently or in collusion with the locals. At least two dozen gangs from Ghaziabad, Bulandshahar, Meerut, Aligarh and Saharanpur districts in UP, and places like Alwar in Rajasthan and from Delhi are said to have become active in the state, especially in Faridabad and Gurgaon, districts in the past two years.
Apart from gangsters from other states,the government is said to have feedback on the local gangs. The description of this category of criminals pertain to those who were involved in bootlegging during the prohibition enforced during the Bansi Lal regime.The bootleggers and liquor mafias were earning between Rs 5 crore and Rs 7 crore from each district during prohibition.
With the scrapping of prohibition these anti-social elements have been left high and dry.With the already acquired logistics they have started indulging in various crimes to keep up their income.What is said to be causing sleepless nights in the government circles is the large number of youths in their teens and in early twenties, who were active in the illegal trafficking, are now neck deep in crime. Many of them belong to good and law-abiding families from the rural belts of the state.
According to one conservative estimate,there are presently about 800 such gangsters.
What has set the alarm bell ringing in the government circles is reports of some of the locals acting hand in glove with inter-state criminals who are now operating in Haryana.
The assessment in the government quarters is that gangsters from outside feel that they can find soft targets in Haryana.
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