Raising the issue through an adjournment motion during the Zero Hour, Jan Morcha member Dharampal Singh said that since February 14, at least five cases of snatching had been reported on the Taj Mahal premises. This, even even after having a three-tier security system at Taj, he added. He demanded adequate security arrangements in Agra as petty crimes against foreign tourists were tarnishing the image of the country and the state. He also said that lack of coordination between the CISF manning the Taj and local police, was one of the reasons behind such crimes.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Lalji Verma said the state government was concerned about the rising crime graph and assured the House that all precautionary measures would be taken.

Meanwhile, Minister for Higher Education Rakesh Dhar Tripathi announced that 20 colleges in the state will be converted into centres of excellence for higher education during the current fiscal. He added that Rs 20 crore had been sanction under the pilot project. Announcing this in the state Assembly during the Budget speech, Tripathi said the state government has also decided convert 125 colleges centres of excellence in the next five years.