Ghaziabad (UP), Sept 27: Alarmed at the spiralling crime rate in Meerut zone, which has witnessed more murders than militancy-affected Jammu and Kashmir since January last year, the police department has launched a crackdown on gangs operating in the area. A total of 1758 murders were reported in seven districts of the zone between January 2002 and September 21 this year. In the same period, J&K recorded 1364 murders, as per police department statistics. Newly-appointed Inspector General of Police, Meerut zone, Rajesh Tiwari, said police chiefs of all seven districts have been instructed to identify gangs and put the criminals behind bars immediately.
Expressing concern over "frequent" transfers of police officials in the state, he said it was adversely affecting efforts to check the crime rate. On "police-criminal nexus", Senior Superintendent of Police, Ghaziabad, Jai Narai Singh, said the guilty police men will not be spared.
Muzaffarnagar district topped the chart with 277 murders last year and 116 this year. It was followed by Meerut - 334 murders in last 21 months - and Ghaziabad - 326. The figure in Bulandshahar was 307, Baghpat 159, Saharanpur 130 and Gautam Budh Nagar 111. Bureau Report