Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday said shooting at criminals “should be the pattern” if they attempt to escape from custody, reported Hindustan Times. The Bharatiya Janata Party leader’s comments came when he was asked about an increase in shootout incidents in the state.

“This should be the pattern if someone who is a rapist tries to flee after snatching arms from police or someone who tries to escape while recreating a scene of crime,” the chief minister said during a conference on “Redefining Policing Standards in Assam”. “Police shouldn’t shoot them in the chest, but law permits shooting them in the leg.”

Sarma said that the state police should take such an action against criminals, but not innocent persons.

The event on Monday was attended by officers in charge of all the police stations in the state.

Sarma also stressed on the need to catch cattle smugglers “at all costs”. “I don’t even want it to go to the chargesheet stage because our cows need to be protected,” said the Bharatiya Janata Party leader. “A cow is like a god to us.”

Since the chief minister assumed office in May, at least eight allegedly accused of smuggling cattle have received bullet wounds in custody with police officials claiming that they had attempted to escape, according to The Indian Express.

State police records cited by the Hindustan Times said that 10 accused have been injured in firing incidents since June 1. Of these, three were accused of stealing cattle and were injured in a police shooting incident, and seven others were wounded in police firing for allegedly trying to escape custody.

“If the police don’t retaliate, then they themselves would die,” Sarma said, according to the newspaper. “But before we take such action, which is permitted by law, our conscience should be clear that whatever tough action we are taking, it is for the public good and not for our own interest.”

Human rights activists and the Opposition in the state criticised Sarma for his comments.

Activist Dibyajyoti Saikia questioned how a chief minister could condone shooting the accused. He said that while strict action was needed, “shooting at accused persons is not the solution to control crime”, the Hindustan Times reported.

Congress Legislature Party leader Debabrata Saikia said that it seemed the police in Assam had become “trigger-happy”. He also asked how the police would be able to establish if a person is a criminal or not as it was a court’s decision.