Patna : Alarmed by the sudden rise in crime in the state including the double murder of two engineers in Darbhanga district, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday summoned his top cops and ordered them to check crime in Bihar or get ready to face the music.

Kumar, who has been accused of encouraging criminals to come out of the woodworks by shaking hands with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the party that gets the credit for spreading 'Jungle Raj' in Bihar in the nineties, asked the Director General of Police (DGP) P. K. Thakur to explain what was the reason for the recent spurt in crime and what was the police doing to check it.

"We cannot let the criminals get away with their crimes and you must do everything in your power to keep criminals at bay," the Chief Minister said.

As reported, Brajesh Kumar Singh (45) and Mukesh Kumar (30), two engineers working for C&C Construction Company based in Gurgaon were shot dead by four motorcycle-borne criminals in Shivrampur locality under Baheri police station in Darbhanga district last Saturday.

In further embarrassment to the Nitish-Lalu government, a businessman was shot dead by criminals in Bazaar Samiti in Muzaffarpur and another businessman was robbed of Rs. 10 lakh in cash by motorcycle-borne criminals in Katihar on Monday.

Meanwhile, opposition leaders have seized on the opportunity to slam the ruling parties saying no one in the right mind, except for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, was surprised by the rise in criminal incidents since the Janata Dal – U leader decided to ally with the original architect of the Jungle Raj in the nineties.

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader M J Akbar who was in Patna on Monday on his way to attend a function in Begusarai, appeared surprised at the rising number of crimes in Bihar saying while most people had suspected something like this would happen after Kumar joined hands with Lalu Prasad Yadav, no one had expected it law and order would collapse so soon after the elections.

Former leader of the opposition and BJP leader Nand Kishore Yadav also accused Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of encouraging criminals by refusing to take tough measures against them.

"Nitish Kumar's casual approach to a serious problem like dwindling law and order has only helped encourage criminals in Bihar," Yadav said.

Leader of the opposition in Bihar Assembly Prem Kumar also expressed his concerns over skyrocketing crime data since the Nitish-Lalu government was formed a couple of months ago.

"The murder spree in the state is not showing any sign of a slowdown. People are once again afraid to step out of their homes and doctors and engineers are once again feeling a threat on their lives," Kumar said.

Former Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, one of the fiercest critics of Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav, said that Nitish Kumar, during his election rallies, was wishing for the 'old days'.

"Extortion, murder, and robbery are reaching new highs every day. You got what you were wishing for during your campaign rallies; hope you are happy and satisfied now," the senior BJP leader said.

Dr. C. P. Thakur (BJP) and Jan Adhikar Party (JAP) chief Pappu Yadav also expressed their concerns over rising cases of crime in the state.

Unperturbed by the criticisms, senior Janata Dal – U leader and General Secretary K C Tyagi pooh-poohed the charges saying the BJP had lost its mind in the aftermath of electoral debacle in Bihar and was leveling charges against the ruling parties with the sole intention to malign them.

"Crime should not be politicized; the government is doing the job and that is all there is to it," Tyagi said on Monday.

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