JALANDHAR, Nov 4 — To counter the increasing crime on the country-side, the Jalandhar police has revived the Village Defence Committees (VDCs) and formation of “takkar groups” (resistance groups). It has involved residents of lone houses and settlements around villages in order to offer resistance to armed gangs of robbers.

These gangs, targeting isolated farm houses or settlements outside villages, have created terror among villagers in the state, particularly after they struck at Goraya and Bajuha Kalan village of the district and left two persons dead and about six injured during the past 10 days.

The presence of such gangs had also created terror in the entire region when they had targeted a number of villages and townships in Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur and Kapurthala districts in January and February.

The invaders attack their victims, including children and women, with blunt and sharp-edged weapons and kill them if they offer slight resistance. The modus operandi of such groups is to choose isolated houses around villages after conducting a proper ‘recce’ of their proposed targets.

To save itself from flak on this account, the Jalandhar police, which is yet to nab those responsible for the two incidents had decided to revive the VDCs, a part of a Central Government scheme, which had been disbanded in the state after the end of decade-long militancy.

“While the members of the VDCs would be provided with arms and ammunition, licences for keeping firearms would be given to the members of the “takkar groups” for ensuring protection of people living in “deras” situated around about 1000 villages of the district”, said SSP Gaurav Yadav.

“The idea behind the entire exercise is to instil a sense of security among people living in small settlements or scattered houses near villages and the VDCs and the takkar groups will be a joint effort of the police and people”, said Mr Yadav adding that the old “zail officer” system on the lines of beat system in cities would also be re-introduced in rural areas and each of the “zail officer” or beat officer would be looking after a cluster of five to seven villages.

The members of the VDCs and the “takkar groups” would move about the countryside during night on tractors and other heavy vehicles belonging to the police and residents of respective areas.