During their meeting with the home minister and ministers of state S. P. Jaiswal and S. Regupathy, the Congress leaders also called for stationing a Special Task Force in the dacoit-affected areas of MP, if the state government so desired.

They also sought a special package for road links between vulnerable villages and towns. They also urged the Centre to direct the state government to take steps to improve the law and order situation in the state. Patil is believed to have assured them that he would "do something" for these areas.

In his two-page memorandum, Scindia gave a graphic account of the alarming rise in the crime graph, not only in Gwalior but in MP as a whole, and the state government's lackadaisical response to it. He recalled how on October 3, three innocent people were killed by the police in Ambah-Porsa village in Morena. A four year child was also raped in Bhopal. In the latest incident, the Gadariya gang killed 13 villagers in Bhawarpura.

"In the last eight or nine months, there have been several cases of dacoity, robbery, rape and murder but the administration has proved to be ineffective,'' said Scindia.

He also pointed out that the administration had failed to take any preventive measures or deploy additional forces, even though the residents of the area had informed the police about a possible attack by dacoits.