Political workers and local elected representatives have been killed, while a serving police officer was also shot dead on duty. With the 2027 assembly elections approaching in Punjab, a broader security concern is emerging in the state. Over the past three months, Punjab Police have repeatedly recovered sophisticated firearms, including AK-47s, an AK-56, an MP-9, high-end pistols and hand grenades.
September saw further major seizures. Another AAP worker was injured and a vehicle carrying Mamdot Nagar panchayat president Vicky Maini was also targeted. The police’s preliminary investigation pointed to an old election-related rivalry. In September, AAP sarpanch Kuljit Singh Sandhu of Mahimad Mandarawala village in Ajnala went missing and was later found dead near Ramdas.
In July, police operations included the recovery of 12 pistols and six hand grenades at an alleged cross-border module, 15 illegal pistols in an inter-state arms-smuggling case and several other weapons. An AK-47, a modified M4-type weapon and another .30-bore rifle were also recovered during a Rural operation in Amritsar. In August, separate operations resulted in the recovery of an MP-9 rifle and seven pistols, followed by seizures of seven, six, 10, nine and another 10 pistols. On August 28, the police reported the recovery of eight high-end pistols in two operations. Police recovered two AK-47 rifles and 50 cartridges in one operation, while another crackdown on illegal arms networks led to the recovery of 13 pistols and 23 cartridges. Faridkot Police separately recovered 10 pistols and 20 cartridges from an alleged cross-border arms network. On September 30, hours before Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s Jalandhar rally, Punjab Police announced the busting of three drug and illegal-arms networks, recovering more than 13 pistols, 22 cartridges and 3 kg of heroin. The September 30-October 4 period saw another striking development in Amritsar Rural, where police recovered an AK-47 and AK-56 in one operation and another AK-47 along with two hand grenades in another. On August 29, AAP worker Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi was shot dead in Mamdot, Ferozepur.
