Punjab minister questions cops' role over attack on RSS leader

Punjab minister Anil Joshi today raised questions over the efficiency of the state police following the murderous attack on RSS leader Jagdish Gagneja and urged the state's BJP leadership to demand a time-bound investigation into the incident.
"It appears that Punjab police is not following its priority of maintaining law and order in the state," the BJP MLA from Amritsar North said responding to a query on the attack on Gagneja and other incidents including assaults on an RSS volunteer in Ludhiana and other religious leaders this year.
"It should be the priority of the police to maintain law and order in the state. They should act fast and nab those behind the attack on Gagneja at the earliest," he said, adding that if the state police required any assistance from the Centre, it should request for the same.

Joshi said even if Gagneja had refused police security, it should have taken "appropriate steps" to protect him.
"The police cannot shrug off its responsibility by saying that he (Gagneja) had turned down the offer of security cover," he said.
"The party should take a hard stand on the issue and demand a time-bound probe," he said.

Joshi also visited the hospital in Ludhiana where the RSS leader is admitted.
Senior RSS leader Brigadier (retired) Jagdish Gagneja was shot at by motorcycle-borne assailants at Jyoti Chowk in Jalandhar on Saturday. He was seriously injured in the incident.
BJP and RSS delegations had met Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal here Yesterday and expressed their concern over the "deteriorating" law-and-order situation in the state.