Lucknow, since the past one month, has turned into a trigger happy city.
A shooting incident has been taking place almost every alternate day and the state capital has witnessed 12 cases of shootouts in public places in September alone.
According to the city police spokesperson, of the 12 shootouts, eight have been solved. However, two murder cases are still unsolved. These include the September 21 incident, in which a food stall vendor was shot dead by two bike-borne assailants just 100 meters from the Cantonment police station and the September 16 incident in which an ex-Army man was shot by three bike-borne men in Mohanlalganj.
In most of the killings, country-made pistols were used and motives included business rivalries, property disputes and loot.
A retired DGP said that the spurt in crime was a result of the complete breakdown of the 'informer' system.
"The police stations are completely ignorant about disputes festering in their areas. Earlier, informers would keep them updated about possibility of violence even within homes. With frequent transfers, police officials are not even interested in knowing about issues in their areas or about equations among criminals. It is now a free-for-all for criminals and illegal arms trade is also flourishing," he said.
The retired DGP further said that programmes and policies sound good on paper and on television, but the cops need to work on the ground.
"How many station house officers know the number of senior citizens and single women living alone in their area? How many know the names and activities of criminals? They are more interested in visiting and pampering the VIPs in their areas," he said.
R.K. Singh, a senior advocate, said: "The law is not stringent enough to work as a deterrent. Instead, the loop holes in law and being increasingly exploited by criminals to get away. The crime rate will decline only when the fear of the law overrides all-the recent amendment in the Motor Vehicles Act is an example of this. People have suddenly started wearing helmets and seat belts."
Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav said, "Lucknow has become the capital of 'Hatya Pradesh' and criminals have ceased to be afraid of law. Life is under threat. Police are silent."
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