'Punjab slipping into anarchy, lawlessness': Warring

Mansa (Punjab), Oct 29 (PTI) Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring Wednesday targeted the AAP government over the law and order issue and warned against the state "slipping into anarchy and lawlessness with everyday incidents of ransom killings reported from across the state".

He alleged that there was an "atmosphere of fear, worse than the one during the terrorism days, prevailing in Punjab as criminals and gangsters were moving scot-free with no fear of law".

Warring was speaking on the sidelines of the Mansa bandh which was called to protest the incidents of firing by unidentified gunmen at a shop.

He said that there is a complete "collapse" of law and order in the state as the government and the police have "abandoned" their responsibility.

Traders in Mansa had given a call for the bandh after two unidentified motorcycle-borne persons opened fire at a shop on Tuesday.

Warring alleged that people across Punjab have been quietly paying huge ransom money to criminals and gangsters, as they have lost confidence in the police.

The senior Congress leader said that it was reminiscent of the terrorism days, when people would rush back to their homes before the dark.

He warned that Punjab was sliding towards that situation if serious and firm steps were not taken right away.

Calling for the security of the family of the shopkeeper who was fired upon, Warring said that the chief minister, the Punjab Police chief and the Mansa SSP will be held accountable if anything untoward happened to them.

Speaking on the occasion, Hardev Arshi, former MLA, urged all the political parties to rise above their partisan interests and come together to save Punjab from "sliding into anarchy and lawlessness".

He urged the chief minister not to depend on the Punjab Police for the feedback about law and order in the state.

He also suggested calling an all-party meeting to get the grassroots feedback about the ground situation in Punjab. PTI CHS KVK KVK