Chandigarh, Jan 14: Punjab’s law enforcement agencies have intensified their crackdown on organized crime under a strict zero-tolerance policy directed by the state administration. The ongoing offensive has resulted in high-profile arrests across multiple states and the neutralisation of suspects in armed encounters, signaling a shift toward proactive policing to dismantle gangster networks.
“The safety of the common people remains our top priority, and we have given the Punjab Police full freedom to take strict and immediate action against criminals,” Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann noted while discussing the state’s security strategy.
The effectiveness of this directive was recently demonstrated when the Punjab Police tracked down the suspects in the Sarpanch Jarmail Singh murder case. In a rapid, well-coordinated operation, officers apprehended the accused individuals in Raipur, Chhattisgarh. Officials mentioned that the arrest serves as a warning that criminals can no longer find safe havens outside the state’s borders.
Simultaneously, the Mohali police took decisive steps in the investigation into the murder of kabaddi player Rana Balachauria. During a confrontation with the suspects, one accused was neutralized in an encounter. Although two police personnel sustained injuries during the gunfight, the department continued its pursuit, eventually capturing two additional suspects in West Bengal.
Prevention has also become a focal point of the current strategy. In Barnala, authorities successfully foiled a conspiracy to attack Punjabi singer Gulab Sidhu. The police arrested three individuals, including the Sarpanch of Kotduna, before they could execute the planned assault.
“This action proves that our teams are capable not only of reacting to crimes but also of preventing them through timely intelligence,” a senior police official directly said regarding the Barnala operation.
Further south in Tarn Taran, the police responded to the murder of a grocery shop owner with an immediate pursuit that ended in a fatal encounter for the accused. The government has maintained that such swift responses are necessary to restore public trust.
This multi-pronged approach of quick response and inter-state coordination indicates that the resolve to eliminate gangsterism is being implemented firmly on the ground to ensure a safer future for the region.
