Gang culture, High profile murders, and cross-border terrorism have been the highlight in Punjab for 2022. The year began with the Aam Aadmi Party’s thundering victory in Punjab. But, the government has been going down the road with a massive spike in crime. It raises several concerns about the party’s ability to handle the law and order situation.
Deteriorating Situation in Punjab
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has been receiving flak for his ability on handling the increased number of crimes. This situation has added a new threat to the border Sensitive state of Punjab. Opposition leaders have been saying the AAP’s reign has brought Punjab to a situation where it can witness a revival of Khalistani militancy. The Khalistani militant threat took countless lives in the 1980s creating a dangerous situation in Punjab.
A few days ago, opposition members and MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal mentioned Mann’s drinking issues in her Parliament speech. Also, the Akali dal leader addressed him as a ‘Dummy CM’ controlled by Delhi’s AAP.
Cross Border Attacks In Punjab
Punjab is a border state that has Pakistan on the other side of the boundary. In 2021, a powerful bomb blast took place in the Ludhiana civil court. In 2022, three cross-border terror attacks with rocket-propelled grenades took place. Also, an IED blast took place. All these incidents happened in police buildings.
At the same time, the killing of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala shook the state. Apart from that, right-wing Hindu leader Sudhir Suri and the sacrilege case accused Pardeep Singh took the spotlight in the political scene. Moreover, Hindu-Sikh clashes took place growing radicalization.
On the other hand, the IG of the police said that police have been actively handling the situation despite an increase in cross-border narco-terror activities. At the same time, police took swift action against the delivery of weapons and drugs through drones. He continued that police were able to tackle major criminal activities this year.
Increase in Terror attacks
At the beginning of 2022, the state police recovered a grenade launcher in Gurdaspur. It was a day before Republic Day when 4 kg of RDX was found in it. It could have been possibly sent across for carrying out terror activities on Republic day.
But, the police could not stop the two following RPG attacks. The first one took place at Punjab Police intelligence headquarters (Mohali) and the next one in a police station at a village in Tarn Taran.
It was the first time when such attacks took place in the state. They shed light on the increasing lies between the terrorists and the gangs operating in the state. Also, these links can be harmful to the state as they can together execute serious crimes with their complex networks. Furthermore, it can trigger young minds to join them.
Despite this, the police did take action on a terror module operating from the Philippines. Alongside, RPG was recovered in it. IG said that they busted 18 terror models and arrested 119 terrorists/radicals.
High-profile murders In Punjab
The Mann government made a special wing of the Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF). It was created particularly to deal with gangsters in April. But, the next month a Gang rivalry led to the murder of Punjabi singer Sindu Moose Wala. Goldy Brar, a gangster based in Canada is alleged to be the mastermind behind it.
In October, gangsters allegedly killed a cloth merchant in Tarn Taran after he did not pay an extortion amount. Following that, a controversial right-wing leader Sudhir Suri was killed in daylight as he was sitting in a protest. He was protesting outside a temple in Amritsar Market when he was shot with dozens of security men in attendance there.
After a week, another police protectee named Pardeep Singh was shot dead. He was shot outside his shop in Kotkapura.
The IG said that after the creation of this special force, it acted on 111 gangster/criminal modules. Also, it arrested 428 gangsters or criminals and neutralised two. Further, the force has seized 400 weapons, 100 vehicles, and 43 kg of heroin from criminals.
Summing up,
A strong law and order situation in the border sensitive state of Punjab is significant for the country. At the same time, peace and restriction on such criminals, gangs, and incidents are vital for the people of Punjab and its development. The Mann government is taking efforts to control this situation but they are not sufficient. CM Mann needs to focus more on the issues of cross-border terrorism, high-profile murders, gang culture, etc immediately.
