‘Can take on gangs, grenade… what about idle youths?’: Punjab Police despair in border areas

“Grenade suttange ta koi na. Assi vee baithe haan ethey (Let them throw a grenade, we are not scared. We are not going anywhere),” says Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Kulwinder Singh, 55, in-charge of the police chowki on the outskirts of Noushehra Pannuan village in Tarn Taran district.

It has been a few days after ASI Iqbal Singh was shot dead in the village, allegedly by the Dony Bal-Prabh Dasuwal gang. The murder is believed to have been the result of gang rivalry, with Iqbal’s son Komal a self-acknowledged member of the Landa-Satta gang that holds sway in the area. There have been other threats of grenade attacks on police posts in the border district.

The police chowki where ASI Kulwinder is posted has no boundary walls, an open approach from the road and only a handful of personnel. He admits “it is scary”, adding: “We set up nakas at night, hold patrols and keep an eye out for troublemakers. Senior officers are also on their toes.”

As Punjab heads for elections and gang violence peaks, police personnel, sarpanchs, ex-sarpanchs and their relatives have become the prime targets of gangs involved in extortion and drugs, with the backing of Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI.

A policemen standing at a check point in Batala, Gurdaspur district. (Express photo by Man Aman Singh Chhina)

Since February this year, there have been six attacks on personnel of the Punjab Police, resulting in the death of five. Five sarpanchs, ex-sarpanchs or their relatives have been killed since January. Three of these attacks have happened this month.

The killings, especially of sarpanchs and those associated with them, reflect how deeply the gangs are entrenched in the area, and the political patronage enjoyed by them, say officials. “We saw the effect of such a nexus in states like Bihar. Punjab appears to be repeating the same mistake,” says a Chandigarh-based senior police officer.

After the killings, a video of the murders follows on social media by gangs claiming responsibility – described by officials as a “hallmark” of the ISI. As per police estimates, 10 to 15 gangs are active in Punjab, with their leaders based abroad, including the US and UK, Canada, Portugal, Germany, Malaysia, etc. One group whose name keeps popping up is ISI-linked Tehreek-e-Taliban Hindustan (TTH).

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Now, across Punjab districts falling along the border with Pakistan are posters put up by police offering rewards for information on gangsters, with a helpline number where people can call. Equally ubiquitous are stickers on cars, trucks and buses, with images of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale announcing “Lagda pher auna paoo (Looks like I have to return)”, AK-47 rifles, and slogans like “Shastar ke adheen hai raj (Sovereignty can be achieved only with weapons)”. (The latter from the historical text Sri Gur Pratap Suraj Granth, on the teachings of Guru Gobind Singh, who fought the Mughals.)

Tarn Taran Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Surendra Lamba calls the district “different” from the rest of Punjab. “The issue here is not merely of law enforcement but also of tackling socio-economic challenges, coupled with aspirations of the youth. People here have traditionally had a challenging attitude towards authority, stemming from being a border region which has faced aggression over several centuries,” says Lamba.

Such is the attraction of youths towards gangs, who have built a profile and following on social media, that unlike in other parts, they reach out to gangs here, seeking to be given a chance for “work”, officials say.

IG, Border Range, Gurpeet Singh Bhullar says one of the gangsters “in demand” is Pakistan’s Shehzad Bhatti, a growing name in the cross-border narco-terrorism network. “We can solve grenade attacks, we can handle any number of security challenges. But we have to be alive to the fact that the younger generation in border areas has time on its hands and needs to be gainfully employed.”

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The IG points out that this year alone, “we have arrested more than a hundred people for extortion-related crimes”. While the Border Range police districts have solved 90% of these cases, Bhullar says, the gang killings are more about “rivalry”.

An armoured, bullet proof vehicle of Punjab Police at a check point in Dera Baba Nanak. (Express photo by Man Aman Singh Chhina)

Local volunteers are known to carry out shootings for as little as Rs 5,000 to Rs 15,000. Sometimes even this petty amount is not delivered to them.

A Punjab Police Counter-Intelligence official says: “In the case of the ASI attacked in Ajnala this month, the shooter was shown Rs 15,000 on a video call, with a promise that it would be paid to him. He was arrested before he got the money. In Amritsar, where an IED planted outside the Army Cantonment went off in May, six accomplices were to get Rs 5 lakh. They only got Rs 1 lakh, and all have been arrested.”

Says SSP Lamba: “Charges of attempt to murder are not much of a deterrent for these front men. They know they will be out of jail (on bail) in six months.”

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At a naka near Kartarpur corridor in Dera Baba Nanak of Gurdaspur district, at a junction of several villages known for the gangsters belonging to them, police personnel stop vehicles for checking, particularly two-wheelers, which are most commonly used in the shoot-and-scoot attacks. “We have instructions to especially check youngsters riding motorcycles,” says Sub-Inspector Baljit Singh. An armed policeman and an armoured and bullet-proof Maruti Gypsy are parked nearby.

Sub-Inspector Gurdip Kaur, a baptised turban-wearing Sikh, flags down a tractor-trailer with loud music blaring from two massive speakers. The driver stands defiantly, his arms crossed, as Kaur gives him a dressing down. Finally, she shouts, “Baahwan thalle kar (Straighten your arms)”, and the youth complies.

The tension among the police personnel is understandable.

Just a few kilometres away from the naka is Jourian Kalan, the village of Nishan Singh ‘Jourian’, a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. Nishan, accused of murder, attempt to murder, extortion and illegal arms possession, is suspected to be operating from the UK. Also close by is Haruwal, the village of Rajbir Singh alias Raja ‘Haruwal’, an associate of gangster Shamsher Singh alias Honey, and believed to be based in Armenia.

Down the road from Haruwal is Agwan village, the home of Jaswinder Singh alias Baghi or Mannu Agwan. The police say he has links with the Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF) militant group and is based in Germany. Jaswinder is suspected to be the mastermind behind recent grenade attacks in the state, including on the police.

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Says Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa of the Congress: “Things are very bad in the district. I have written letters to the Punjab DGP, Prime Minister, Home Minister and Finance Minister, highlighting the activities of gangsters in my constituency.”

Randhawa also talks of “the real challenge of influx of extortion and drug money into the electoral process via relatives of gangsters”, seeking investigations by the Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax Department.

IG Bhullar suggests a “special recruitment quota” for the youth of border areas. “Recently, the Punjab Governor came on a visit to Amritsar. I suggested to him that 1-2% vacancies in the Army, police and Central forces be kept for them so that they are gainfully employed.”

We need to keep them busy firing at the enemy so that they don’t fire at us, he adds.

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Police killings

February 22-23; Adhian village, Gurdaspur: ASI Gurnam Singh and Home Guard Ashok Kumar shot dead inside a police outpost, roughly 2 km from the Indo-Pak border. TTH claimed responsibility.

May 24; Near Majitha, Amritsar: ASI Joga Singh shot dead while travelling to work. TTH said it was behind the attack.

September 11; Rajasansi area, Amritsar Rural: ASI Jaswant Singh fired upon while returning home after duty. A bullet grazed his head but he survived. Again, TTH claimed responsibility.

September 18; Bhagtanwala grain market area, Amritsar: ASI Harjit Singh shot dead at close range, while on PCR / night duty. A suspect killed in an encounter.

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October 4; Ajnala area, Amritsar Rural: ASI Sukhchain Singh of Government Railway Police shot in the arm near his residence. TTH claimed responsibility, three men arrested.

October 11; Naushehra Pannuan, Tarn Taran: ASI Iqbal Singh of Counter Intelligence Wing of the Punjab Police, posted in Ferozepur, shot dead while returning from a gurdwara.

Sarpanchs, ex-sarpanchs, kin killed

January 4; Valtoha, Tarn Taran: The sarpanch of Valtoha, Jarmal Singh, shot at point-blank range while attending a wedding at a resort in Amritsar. The police linked the attack to the Prabh Dasuwal / Afridi gang, and to extortion demands and old enmity; Jarmal had survived earlier attacks.

February 18; Thathin Mehta, Tarn Taran: Sarpach Harbinder Singh of Thathian Mehta shot dead at a wedding function in the district. Canada-based Lakhbir Landa gang claimed responsibility.

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September 23; Mahimad Mandarawala village, Amritsar: Kuljit Singh Sandhu, the husband of the ex-sarpanch of Mahimad Mandarawala village, abducted and killed. The case is unsolved.

September 26; Gaggobua village, Tarn Taran: Navpreet Singh Navi, the husband of sarpanch Kulwinder Kaur of Gaggobua village, shot dead, with police attributing the killing to a personal dispute with a local jeweller after an argument and ruling out a gangster angle.

October 6; Toot village, Tarn Taran: The sarpanch of Toot, Ashwani Devgan, killed by motorcycle-borne assailants. The Landa-Satta gang said it had a hand.