Petty crimes like snatchings, thefts find echo in election
Jalandhar, May 8
“Sada dil tutteya hoeya, asi kihnu vote paiye,” says 65-year-old Charan Singh as he shows his recently robbed shop.
A barrage of thefts, robberies, snatching, false cases and a unanimous grievance that their womenfolk (in some cases men too) can’t step out in the evening on their own in the villages, due to gangs of active snatchers on bikes, have left villagers in the hinterland harried. This remains the key grievance of villages in Jalandhar as the Lok Sabha constituency goes to polls on Wednesday.
Peeved at successive governments, including the present dispensation in the state, the villagers said all all governments had failed to address the issue.
Surprisingly, at many places, queries on key issues led to an outrage on thefts. When asked who they would vote for — at roadsides, near tyre shops, grocery stores and at villages saaths — the primary concerns villagers raised was a rise in petty crime and false cases — which had also forced some families to send their kin abroad. Almost every village gathering had a recent petrol station or mobile phone robbery to report.
Villagers believe lack of curbs on the supply of drugs has in turn led to the situation being aggravated.
Villagers across Chak Kalan, Chak Vendal, Lohar Nangal, Bajuha Khurd, Kangniwal, Saidowal, among others, had the same grievance. This has been corroborated by the Jalandhar police which reported that gang of thieves (and the mobile shops they were selling stolen phones to) had recently been busted and 115 mobiles (along with bikes, cylinders etc) seized from their possession, only yesterday.
Charan Singh (65), an elderly generator parts vendor from Chak Vendal village in Jalandhar, when asked who he would vote for, surprisingly replied, “Koi nahi sunda. Four wooden logs from my roof were taken out and generator parts worth Rs 30,000 to Rs 32,000 were stolen from my shop. I reported the matter to Shankar Chowki and the thief was caught but let off. There have been six to seven thefts in the village recently. My stuff is yet to be recovered. We are poor. Now they say go to Nakodar. Asi es vari hath jor ditte. I won’t vote.”
Harpreet Singh from the same village said, “Thefts are rampant and innocent parties are at times targeted. Thieves take away wires from motors. They aren’t acted against. I won’t blame the government as sarpanches don’t listen to our grievances. They protect the culprits. In elections, development works like interlocking tiles and free power bills certainly have a resonance.”
Darshan Kaur and her friend Sukhvir Kaur from Lohar Nangal village said, “Our vote was always for the Congress, let’s see what happens this time. A false case was slapped on my husband during the time of Akalis. It affected my sons too. I sent my husband to Canada. My sons are in Italy and Canada too.”
Mukhvinder Singh, SSP, Jalandhar, confirmed rampant thefts in the area. “Two Nurmahal-based snatchers were nabbed by the police on Saturday and 115 mobiles recovered from Om Parkash, the dealer they were selling the mobiles to. Electric wires, stone-cutters, three motorbikes and 12-13 cylinders were also recovered from them,” he said, adding that “28-29 other incidents were traced in the area a few days ago.”
