By SATINDER BAINS
Despite repeated claims and ultimatums by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of having launched a decisive offensive against organised crime, targeted killings linked to extortion rackets continue unabated in Punjab, spreading fear among businessmen and exposing serious gaps in law enforcement.
On Wednesday morning, gangsters shot dead a 43-year-old chemist shop owner in the border town of Dera Baba Nanak after he allegedly refused to pay an extortion demand of ₹50 lakh. The victim was killed in cold blood around 8 am, moments after opening his shop. Gangster Balwinder Singh alias Dolly Bal, who is reportedly operating from Europe, claimed responsibility for the murder.
This killing marks the fifth targeted murder in Punjab in the past two months linked to extortion demands, underscoring the growing audacity of gangsters even after the state government claimed to have arrested over 1, 300 people allegedly linked to gangsters operating from abroad under its much-publicised statewide crackdown.
Even as shock waves from the Dera Baba Nanak murder were still being felt, another brazen killing was reported from Mohali, exposing the deteriorating law and order situation in the state. Shooters allegedly belonging to the Goldy Brar gang gunned down Gurwinder Singh alias Lambbar, a rival gang member, just metres away from the office of the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Mohali, near the district courts complex.
Gurwinder Singh, a resident of village Rurki Pukhta in Fatehgarh Sahib district, had come to the court to appear in a drug-related case. He was accompanied by his wife, who escaped unhurt. Goldy Brar later claimed responsibility for the murder.
Notably, Gurwinder Singh was earlier accused of involvement in the murder of Gurlal Singh, the brother of Goldy Brar. He was among the four gangsters arrested in the Gurlal murder case but was acquitted after eyewitnesses turned hostile during the trial.
The fact that a targeted killing took place in a high-security zone near the SSP’s office has proved deeply embarrassing for the police and raised serious questions about the effectiveness of the state’s anti-gangster drive.
The spate of killings has intensified fear within the business community, which increasingly feels vulnerable to extortion threats and violent reprisals. Traders and shopkeepers allege that gangsters continue to operate with impunity, issuing threats from abroad and executing murders through local shooters.
The latest incidents also cast a shadow over repeated public assurances by AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. Both leaders have, on several occasions, issued stern warnings to gangsters to stop killings. During the Tarn Taran bye-election campaign, Kejriwal had even announced that gangsters would be eliminated within a week.
However, with murders now becoming a near-daily occurrence, critics allege that the AAP government has miserably failed to rein in organised crime, leaving Punjab grappling with a deepening sense of insecurity and eroding public confidence in the rule of law.