ET Year-end Special Reads
The state, which shares a 553-km-long border with Pakistan, has seen a rise in terrorism-related incidents and smuggling of narcotics and arms using drones.
According to IGP (headquarters) Sukhchain Singh Gill, the police recovered 185 kg of heroin, 24 pistols, one AK-47 rifle, one IED and ₹4.18 lakh of drug money dropped via drones in the past year. There were 513 drone sightings.
The police has blocked at least 483 social media accounts glorifying gangsters and promoting violence, the officer said.
NIA probing cases of pro-Khalistan elements’ nexus with gangster-criminal syndicates has stated that the situation was akin to the scenario that existed in Mumbai in the early 1990s. The two main gangs in operation are led by Lawrence Bishnoi and Kaushal Chaudhary, NIA has observed in its multiple charge sheets, drawing parallels between their rivalry and that of Mumbai underworld dons Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Rajan.
In the past year, Punjab had witnessed a series of attacks on police establishments and high-profile killings of Hindu leader Vikas Bagga at Nangal and ex-terrorist Rattandeep Singh among other incidents.