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Updated: Jun 28, 2019 00:10 IST

The Congress on Thursday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of establishing a “jungle raj” in Haryana following the murder of its spokesperson, Vikas Chaudhary, in Faridabad.

Unidentified gunmen shot 10 bullets at Chaudhary while he was coming out of a gym in the morning, police said.

Terming the incident condemnable, shameful and sad, Congress president Rahul Gandhi tweeted that it was an indicator of the deteriorating law and order in Haryana. “The murder of Congress spokesperson and leader in Faridabad is a condemnable, shameful and mournful incident. This is a mirror to the worsening law and order situation in Haryana...,” he tweeted in Hindi.

Haryana Congress president Ashok Tanwar said the party would launch a statewide agitation if the culprits were not brought to book within 24 hours. They would register their protest against the worsening law and order by showing black flags to chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, he added.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala panned the BJP government for a collapse in law and order and claimed that Haryana had become a crime hub. Quoting figures by the state crime records bureau, Surjewala said 1,087 cases of murder, 1,681 cases of rape, 3,763 cases of kidnapping and abduction and 1,08,449 cases of cognizable offences had been registered in Haryana between May 2018 and April 2019. “This proves the fast deteriorating law and order situation,” he said.

Rajiv Jain, media adviser to the chief minister, defended the government and said, “Though such incidents should not occur, these take place sometimes and it is not proper to say that the law and order situation has deteriorated or collapsed,” he said.

Earlier in the day, the Congress slammed Khattar’s statement that he was not aware of the murder.