Cong, AAP condemn Ludhiana gangrape; question govt's silence

Senior Congress leader Amarinder Singh today demanded immediate arrest of those involved in the Ludhiana gangrape case and hit out at the Punjab government for its "casual" approach.
Government must arrest the culprits immediately so that they are brought to justice without any delay, he said and expressed his support to the victim and her family.
"...We will ensure that you get justice and the culprits are brought to book at the earliest," he assured them.
Singh also questioned the silence of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, saying no concrete steps have been taken in the case.

"Ludhiana gang-rape is too horrible and horrendous to be taken too casually as the government appears to be doing," he warned.
Amarinder said, he had been consistently reminding the government about the deteriorating law and order situation.

"This incident is purely the failure of law and order and the entire onus is on the government which has failed to ensure safety and security of our women", he asserted.
"The alarming regularity with which such incidents are taking place across the state is quite worrying and more worrying is the government's criminal indifference towards such a situation," he observed.
Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader H S Phoolka said that it is shameful that such horrifying incidents are taking place in Ludhiana.

"It is primarily because of non availability of police persons for the security of the public. Majority of these police persons are working and guarding many VIPs round the clock in Ludhiana. As a result, manpower is significantly reduced for the normal functioning and security of common people," Phoolka said in a statement here.
These incidents could have been avoided if police persons deployed with VIPs had been doing their routine duties instead of securing those in power, he added.
"It is the mindset of police which needs to change where in they think that only the security of VIP is important and the common man or woman should fend for themselves," he said.

He further said AAP activists will hold a protest tomorrow in front of Police Commissioner's Office at Ludhiana and present a memorandum to the Commissioner demanding increased safety for women in particular and general public.
A 23-year-old girl was allegedly gangraped in a moving car after she was abducted by unidentified youths from the posh Raj Guru Nagar locality in Ludhiana on Saturday.