Punjab: Drug smugglers, terrorists and gangsters become a big challenge

Punjab: Attempt to assassinate SAD chief Sukhbir Badal, eight blasts targeting police establishments, bullet-for-bullet strategy for gangsters, dismissal and suspension of policemen who helped Lawrence Bishnoi give TV interviews from custody were the key points of 2024 on the law and order front in the state. The nexus between drug traffickers, terrorists and gangsters in partnership with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence, which lures drug addicts and unemployed youth into the world of crime, some of whom go to the extent of carrying out terror attacks, has emerged as a major challenge for the authorities. The police busted 13 modules of terrorists this year as well, like last year. However, the presence of a syndicate involving smugglers and gangsters in these modules posed a major challenge for the law enforcement agencies. The district police and the counter-intelligence unit of the state police paid special attention to this aspect. DGP Gaurav Yadav said, “We are facing an onslaught of terrorism, drugs and gangsters from agencies across the border and those operating from the US, Canada and Europe. The state police have prevented many crimes and solved all major incidents.” The police have busted nearly 200 modules of gangsters till the end of November this year (December data is not available). Last year the number was 188. The police arrested 559 gangsters this year compared to 482 last year. Encounters with gangsters increased from 60 to 64, in which 56 gangsters sustained bullet injuries, while the number was 32 last year. At the same time, gangster Lawrence Bishnoi drew global attention for his alleged involvement in the murder of alleged terrorist Hardeep Nijjar in Canada, besides the murder of politician-turned-real estate agent Baba Siddiqui in Mumbai. Gursher Singh Sandhu, a 2016 batch officer of the Punjab Police Service (PPS), may be dismissed from service for his alleged role in the interview. Six others, including a DSP-rank officer, were suspended. However, action is awaited against other senior officers, who have been issued show-cause notices. The assassination attempt on Sukhbir Badal near the entrance of the Golden Temple in Amritsar was the biggest incident of security breach involving a top political leader since the assassination of Chief Minister Beant Singh in August 1995. Though leaders belonging to a particular community have been targeted, the assassination attempt on Sukhbir Singh Badal was the first incident targeting a Sikh leader, who was also the state’s deputy chief minister. Incidents of rape have come down, while cases of murder, kidnapping, loot and robbery saw a rise. A total of 986 cases of rape were registered in the state this year, compared to 1,065 in 2023.