People's Democracy

AIAWU LEADER ROBBED BY DACOITS

Crimes Continue Unabated In UP

Below we publish the text of the letter written by Joint Secretary Suneet Chopra ,on July 6, to Ms Mayawati, chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, on the crime situation in the state.

I wish to bring to your notice that despite your suspension orders to officials for minor derelictions, crimes dacoities and murders continue unabated and have become a cottage industry in UP.

I had first hand experience of this on June 5, when I was returning from the council meeting of the agricultural labour union Baiwara village under at Gazipur police station in Fatehpur district. It was about 8.20 pm when three youth over took us and forced the driver of the motorcycle on which I was to stop. The vehicle skidded and I was trapped under it when three men with  homemade ‘mausers’ came and grabbed my bags from me, stealing a little over Rs 900, a cell phone and charger, clothes and note books.

My companion called to me and asked me to seek shelter in the darkness. This was fortunate as the robbers came back and then sped away to a culvert on the road to Gazipur. I have registered an FIR but I am informed that robberies and murders are a daily occurrence in Fathepur and that the people in the town are at their wits end. I hope you will act immediately to ensure the safety of the people of this district.

The criminalisation of large sections of unemployed youth in rural areas is seriously hampering the security of the state. It must be dealt with by breaking the gangs but also by ensuring adequate jobs under rural employment schemes and food for work programmes. Moreover, the mechanization of road building and harvesting activity must be banned at once to provide more work for those who are unemployed so that they are not forced to live off crime. This action will change things much more than the transfers of officials.