ASI murder sporadic incident of crime: CM

Cheif Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Tuesday termed ASI Ravindrpal Singh's death and a journalist being beaten up for trying to stop a girl from being molested as "sporadic incidents" of crime.

While attributing such incidents to declining morality in the society, Badal compared these with the Wisconsin gurdwara shootout in the US, in which many innocent Sikhs were killed. "Even advanced countries like the US witnessed incidents of crime but that was not in anyway attributed to a deteriorating law and order situation," he told mediapersons here at the residence of SAD MLA Bibi Jagir Kaur, who is currently out on bail in her daughter's murder case.

"The incidents that took place in Amritsar and Jalandhar were unfortunate. The government had acted quickly and arrested the accused a few hours after the incidents... The state government will make necessary amendments in the acts dealing with crimes against women and crimes in general to ensure exemplary punishment for the criminals," Badal told mediapersons.

Necessary amendments will be made and the state will pursue the case with the Centre, wherever its intervention is required, to ensure that there is harsher punishment for serious crimes like eve-teasing, he added.

Claiming that the state government was following a policy of "zero tolerance" against crime and criminals by strictly dealing with such cases, Badal said: "Neither the state government nor SAD were in any way shielding criminals, rather we are committed to wipe out crime from the state."

Asked why the credentials of people are not checked before there are inducted into the party, the CM said: "One does not know how one will behave in the future."

Badal also denied that he was aware of the fact that a large number of police officers, having criminal cases pending against them, have been posted on senior positions in the state.

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