100 gangsters immobilised by Punjab cops in six months
In an aggressive crackdown on organised crime, the Punjab Police have “immobilised” over 100 gangsters in the past six months, primarily targeting their legs during encounters. These encounters were carried out by the Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) along with district police personnel.
The police believe the “bullet for bullet” approach aims at neutralising threats, while minimising fatalities. Sixteen gangsters have been killed while three police personnel achieved martyrdom in these encounters.
DIG Swapan Sharma, Jalandhar Commissioner of Police, who is known as an encounter specialist, stated in The Tribune’s special Crime Show interview that harsh measures to combat chronic criminals were required, but the police were sensitive to saving lives even during shootouts.
“We have achieved considerable success. We focus on cutting the support system of gangsters. The police are also tackling their activities on social media, besides identifying followers, friends and families who harbour or financially support them,” he said.
He said the introduction of “radio silence” measures in jails like Bathinda could help a lot in cutting off gangsters’ communication lines.
A 2008-batch IPS officer, he has been involved in several encounters during his career, prominent among those was the killing of gangster Davinder Bambiha in 2016. He also braved threats when gangsters openly and directly threatened him on social media in 2018. The gangsters who threatened him were “neutralised” in an encounter with the Organised Crime Control Unit (OCCU) of the Punjab Police a few weeks afterwards. The unit was later rechristened as the AGTF.
The latest encounter took place on Sunday. The Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) and the Mohali police arrested Satpreet Singh, alias Satti, the alleged kingpin of a highway robbers’ gang, marking the latest success in their ongoing campaign.
Punjab gangsters are in news at the global level. A number of them, including Lakhbir Singh Landa, Goldy Brar and Arshdeep Dala, besides Pakistan-based gangster-turned-terrorist Harvinder Rinda have been recruiting youngsters to carry out extortions in the state.
Others like Lawrence Bishnoi, accused in Mumbai politician-cum-realtor Baba Siddique’s murder are also indulging in extortions, making them the prime focus of the police.
The AGTF’s Social Media Analysis Unit has blocked 203 accounts (132 on Facebook and 71 on Instagram) that were being used to eulogise gangsters, promote violence and threaten society.
