New Delhi: Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) President Chirag Paswan hit out at the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government on Saturday (July 26), alleging that the law-and-order system had collapsed amid a spike in violent crimes, including rape and murder.“I feel sad that I am supporting a government where crime has become rampant. It is imperative to control it, or else the consequences will be very bad. This is playing with the lives of people here,” NDTV quoted Paswan as saying at a press interaction in Patna.His remarks followed a spate of violent incidents in the state, the latest being the alleged gang rape of an unconscious woman by an ambulance driver and technician in Gaya. The woman had reportedly fainted while attempting a Home Guard physical test and was later assaulted while being taken to hospital. Both accused have been arrested.Paswan’s party, the LJP (Ram Vilas), is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), as is the ruling Janata Dal (United) headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.Commenting on the Gaya case, Paswan said, as reported by The Indian Express, “It is true that what happened is as condemnable and as shameful as it gets; action has also been taken, arrests have been made. But the first question is, why do such incidents keep happening in the first place?”He said Bihar was witnessing a “series of criminal incidents” involving “murders, kidnappings, robberies, dacoities, rapes,” and warned that the situation was fast deteriorating. “If things keep going like this, it will create a very dreadful situation in our state in the coming days. Actually, such a situation has already arisen,” Express reported him as saying. “Ask the families who have lost their loved ones about their condition. Ask the girls who have suffered such incidents about their condition”.With the assembly polls approaching, Paswan also suggested that some of the crimes may be politically motivated. “If elections are also a reason – and in some way, I too accept that perhaps elections are also one reason and maybe, to malign the government, some people are conspiring and executing these incidents – but even then, the responsibility lies with the administration to control them,” he said.Paswan went on to say the administration had either lost control or was “colluding” with criminal elements. “Either the administration has a hand in it, or it is trying to cover up these incidents, or it has become completely ineffective,” according to NDTV.‘I request the Bihar government to act before it’s too late’Urging urgent action, he added, “I request the Bihar government to act before it’s too late.”Among the high-profile cases in the past month, notorious gangster Chandan Mishra was shot dead by armed men inside Patna’s Paras Hospital. Prominent businessman Gopal Khemka was killed outside his home, and separate incidents saw a sand trader and a grocery store owner also murdered in the state capital.In response, the JD(U), however, dismissed Paswan’s criticism. Without naming him, party spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan Prasad said, “Before making remarks, people should look inwards. Those who are criticising the law-and-order situation in Bihar should stop criminals from joining their party,” Prasad said, as per NDTV.He added that no state could claim to be entirely crime-free. “What is important is how the Bihar Police acts against the accused and ensures strict action,” he said, noting that over 100 fast-track courts were being set up across the state.