Industrialists being targeted by gangsters in Punjab would lead to their migration to other states: SAD chief Badal

Ludhiana (Punjab), Nov 20 (PTI) Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal Monday slammed the AAP government in Punjab over the law and order situation and alleged industrialists being targeted by gangsters would lead to their further migration to other states, including Uttar Pradesh.

Badal met Ludhiana-based businessman Sambhav Jain who was shot at after he was kidnapped for ransom near his factory on Friday night.

On Sunday, Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar had enquired about Jain's health.

Badal said he also interacted with prominent members of the industry who told him that they were feeling so unsafe that they were ready to hand over the keys of their establishments to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

'Even though it is more than one year that industrialists and traders are receiving extortion calls from gangsters and even being killed, the chief minister has failed to take effective steps against the gangsters who even continue to indulge in their nefarious activities from jail,' he alleged.

He said the “downward spiral” in the law and order situation in Punjab had forced industrialists from the state to invest in Uttar Pradesh and other states.

'Now this tendency has increased and many industrialists are moving lock, stock and barrel from the state,' he claimed, saying this trend would result in increased unemployment besides dealing a death blow to Punjab's industrial sector.

He referred to the killing of a restaurant owner in Bathinda in broad daylight and said gangsters had become so emboldened that they were striking at will.

Businessman Jain was kidnapped near his factory. A motorcycle rammed into his vehicle about one km from his unit. The moment Sambhav came out of the car, four more men arrived and bundled him into the back seat of his car and took him away.

The miscreants had demanded a ransom of Rs 5 crore from Jain's family.

The kidnappers roamed in Ludhiana for three hours before shooting at and throwing Jain out of the car at Vishwakarma Chowk. PTI COR CHS SMN SMN