A senior police official in Bihar has attributed the recent rise in crime across the state to seasonal unemployment among agricultural workers.
Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order), Kundan Krishnan, made the observation while speaking to journalists on Wednesday evening. “Recently, a lot of murders have happened in the whole of Bihar. Most murders happen in the months of April, May and June. This continues until the rains come, as most farmers do not have work. After the rains, people in the farming community get busy, and the incidents reduce…,” he added.
“Bihar has only two major crop seasons. Since there is no crop season between April and July, most farmhands remain unemployed during this period. Consequently, land-related clashes escalate. Some of them, especially the youth, even take up contract killings for quick money. Murder cases increase mainly between May and July, he added,” Krishnan said.
The comment triggered outrage on social media, with many people accusing the officer of trying to come up with an excuse for failure to control law and order.
The comment has triggered outrage on social media, with many people accusing the officer of trying to come up with an excuse for failure to control law and order.
When contacted by PTI on Thursday, he said, “Whatever I have said is backed by data. If needed, I will come up with figures to show that this period of the year witnesses a spurt in violent crimes.”
Congress reacts
Congress’ media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said what kind of disgraceful comments are these. “This is not your mindset but reflects the mindset of the political leadership behind you, it is the mindset of the NDA government,” Khera alleged in a video statement.
“Now nobody is talking about gundaraj, jungle raj. It is not possible to hunt even in the jungle like what we saw in Paras hospital where a patient in ICU was gunned down,” he said.
(With inputs from agencies)