Patna: Observing that rule of law appeared to have collapsed in Bihar, the Patna High Court on August 5 came down heavily on the state government, saying its crime figures were "doctored" and data a mere "eyewash".

The elected representatives and government servants declared absconders by courts move freely and police stations do not register complaints on one pretext or the other, a division bench said while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) by a traders' body.

Such absconders should be suspended immediately till their appearance in the court, Chief Justice Ravi S Dhavan and Justice Shahsank Kumar Singh said.

They described as highly unsatisfactory the government's argument in the affidavit filed in the court on behalf of the state police chief that crimes like kidnapping, murder and extortion have only marginally increased and that the crime situation was much better than in many other states.

"Don't quote doctored statistics to show lower crime figures, but mention the actual ground reality. Your data are just an eyewash."

The affidavit said only nine cases of kidnapping were reported in the state capital in 2001-2002 and six in the current year. Other crimes had registered a marginal increase since 1990, it said.

"Who will believe you? The police do not register complaints in the police stations. The officials deliberately record a lower crime figure to escape embarrassment," the judges said, adding the rule of law appears to have been collapsed.

PTI