Chief minister Nitish Kumar arrives at the Assembly on Tuesday. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Patna, March 27: Under attack from the Opposition over the crime spiral in the state, the latest being the murder of a woman tourist from Jharkhand, chief minister Nitish Kumar today said such incidents will occur as long as society exists but his government was committed to take stern action against the culprits.

“Crime will take place as in any other corner of the world. However, under my regime there is action by the police against the culprits,” the chief minister said, while replying to a three-hour debate on the budgetary demand of the home department that he looks after.

Nitish said the area where the woman, Suman Barnawal, from Jharia in Jharkhand, was attacked was Maoist-hit.

“There was no patrolling by the police. I have ordered intense patrolling in the area,” he said, adding that the post-mortem report of the victim had not established rape.

The Opposition staged a walkout, alleging that the chief minister was trying to hide the truth.

Leader of Opposition Abdul Bari Siddiqui launched a scathing attack. “Many people celebrated Bihar Divas. So did the criminals by inflicting high-profile criminal activities. The criminals gave you a salute on the occasion of Bihar Divas. It is a matter of shame for every Bihari that incidents like the one in Jamui still take place. Mass rape and murder, custodial deaths and lathicharge on women are taking place and you expect us to be proud,” Siddiqui said. “Why have women stopped going out of their homes wearing gold chains?” he asked.

Nitish expressed anguish over the Jamui incident. “Immediately after the incident, the family took the victim to Sikandra primary health centre where she was referred to Jamui hospital. I have asked the police to investigate why even an outdoor slip was not issued to the family and if the Sikandra health centre informed the police about the incident,” he said.

The chief minister said the Jamui SP was informed about the incident around 11.15pm on Sunday and all the police stations concerned were kept in the loop. “The question is not if rape was committed or not. The incident has occurred. I am not defending anyone,” Nitish said. The annual report issued by the home department indicates that there has been a rise in certain types of crime. The report says the number of rape cases in 2011 was 934, up from 795 in 2010. The number of thefts registered in 2010 was 15,544. The figure has risen to 16,292 in 2011. The number of cases of bank dacoity and loot has also gone up. The total number of cognizable offences registered in 2011 was 1,47,633 against 1,37,572 in 2010.

When Nitish came to power in 2005, the number of cognizable offences was 1,04,776.