Odisha must act on its law & order pledge

On January 4, jewellery robbers shot dead two onlookers in Jajpur, hours before the chief minister’s scheduled visit to the district.
Odisha government. Image used for representation.
Odisha government. Image used for representation. (Photo | Twitter)
Updated on
2 min read

A spurt in disturbing crimes is a definite sign of worry for the Odisha government. Last week, a former police volunteer was bludgeoned to death by criminals in the heart of Bhubaneswar.

Happening hours before the opening of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, the central government’s mega diaspora outreach event, the gory murder in the heart of a decked-up capital rocked the state.

That even the thick security blanket deployed ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s arrival could not deter the act must stir the Mohan Charan Majhi government to action.

It’s hardly about a single incident. Over the past four months, the stacking up of heinous crimes is a grim pointer to the increasing lawlessness across the state. On January 4, jewellery robbers shot dead two onlookers in Jajpur, hours before the chief minister’s scheduled visit to the district.

A Rs 20-crore gold heist in broad daylight in Sambalpur was another setback to the law enforcement agencies. Late last year, a horrendous spate of sex crimes against underage girls ripped through Rourkela, a bustling steel city.

In neighbouring Sundargarh town, a mob stripped naked a group of construction workers from West Bengal and paraded them in public, presuming them to be Bangladeshi immigrants at a time when Hindus were under attack in the strife-torn neighbouring country. If that’s not enough, members of minority communities have openly voiced their rising apprehension.

The BJP fought hard against the BJD and won a decisive mandate, using deteriorating order and rising crimes against women as a major poll plank. Now it appears to be watching the situation spiral out of control.

The saffron party, which often targeted the previous dispensation for its stodgy bureaucratic governance, carried out a systemic cleansing in the police administration after coming to power. A new chief was appointed, too. Yet, law enforcement has slipped on the ground.

One must not forget the tricky situation the state police got into over the custodial torture of an army man and his fiancée. Chief Minister Majhi has been pitching Odisha as the next big investment destination of the country, often citing political stability and peace as major attractive factors. As someone who is also the home minister of the state, he must walk the talk and arrest the worsening trend.

Related Stories

No stories found.

X
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com