Punjab CM condemns stalking of Chandigarh woman

New Delhi: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today condemned the alleged incident of stalking of a young woman in Chandigarh by the son of the Haryana BJP chief, saying no attempt should be made to dilute the charges against the accused. The chief minister, while talking to journalists here after releasing a book on author Khushwant Singh, said the woman had clearly stated that there was an attempt to abduct her, hence charges should be registered under the relevant sections of the law. Describing such incidents as extremely unfortunate, he said he admired the courage shown by the young woman. To a question on Chandigarh police's claim that CCTV footage of the alleged stalking incident was not available as cameras were "non-functional", he said, "So what if the footage is not available. The girl has made her statement and the police must act on it". Referring to the issue of safety of women in Punjab, he said his government was taking steps to curb petty street crimes like snatchings to make roads safer for women. He said drug addiction in Punjab had led to rise in such petty crimes, making streets unsafe for women. "We have cracked down on drugs and are constantly increasing police presence on the roads to make women feel safe," he said, adding, his government had cut down on VVIP security in a big way and put policemen back on the streets for public duty.