BJP MP Raghav Lakhanpal says it’s up to Centre to set up highway patrol

While agreeing that the gangrape in Bulandshahr reflected the “dismal law and order” situation in UP, a BJP MP urged the Centre to frame a policy to enable states to raise a security force to deal with crime on highways.

“We know that the state of law and order in UP is dismal but I do not want to get into a blame game and I do not want to play politics here,” Saharanpur MP Raghav Lakhanpal said in the Lok Sabha during zero hour. “But I want to ask this august House that when the UP government in 2014 had thought of setting up of a highway patrol force, why did it not come into effect?”

He said, “The need of the hour is introspection and action. I, therefore, propose that we, as the central government, should set up a cohesive policy to ensure that every state of this country has a state highway patrol force, a force that is modern, that uses ultra-high tech equipment, motorcycles and gadgets, radar system, GPS mapping system and is adept at handling any sort of crisis…”