By Special Corresponden
Bhopal: With Union Home Minister Amit Shah arriving in Madhya Pradesh, State Congress president Jeetu Patwari launched a sharp attack on both the Centre and the BJP-led state government over what he described as a complete breakdown of law and order.
Patwari said Shah was welcome to the state, but the people of Madhya Pradesh had five critical questions that the BJP had been evading for years. He alleged that the state was living under an atmosphere of fear, crime and insecurity, with the Home Department reduced to “paperwork and publicity”.
He pointed out that more than 20,000 police posts were lying vacant in the state, contributing to a steady rise in crime, and questioned why the Union Home Ministry had not intervened decisively. Citing NCRB data, Patwari said Madhya Pradesh figured among the top states for crimes against women and tribals, yet no special security plan had been devised.
Referring to tribal-dominated districts, he said poor arrest, charge-sheet and conviction rates under the Atrocities Act exposed weak policing and lack of accountability. He also questioned the credibility of police rankings, citing allegations that an innocent student was framed in a drugs case at Mandsaur’s Malhargarh police station, earlier declared among the country’s best.
Patwari further claimed that over 23,000 girls were missing in the state and more than 575 rape accused were roaming free. He said State Government had failed to handle the Home portfolio, asserting that Madhya Pradesh needed accountable policing, not hollow speeches and political ratings.
