Poll: Illegal weapons a big challenge for police in Amritsar

Tribune News Service

PK Jaiswar

 Amritsar, January 11

Even as the district administration and the Police Commissioner have directed the arms licence holders to deposit their weapons with their respective police stations or gun houses, illegal weapons will still be a big challenge for the law-enforcing agency during the Assembly polls.

The Punjab Police are prepared to meet any eventuality and thwart any untoward incident. Nobody will be allowed to vitiate the peaceful atmosphere. Besides, we have started checking suspicious vehicles and asked police officials to remain alert. Parminder Singh Bhandal, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law & Order)

In the past, a number of incidents of sneaking of hand grenades, explosives and weapons by ISI-backed anti-national forces from across the Indo-Pak border have been reported. Even the Punjab Police also busted illegal weapon supply rackets from Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Following inputs from intelligence and security agencies, the Punjab Police have been on alert as anti-national and anti-social elements would try to create law and order problems which would prove to be a hurdle in the peaceful conduct of the elections scheduled to be held on February 14.

Keeping this in mind, there would be many companies of paramilitary forces in the border district this time. In the first phase, 50 companies of paramilitary forces have been allotted to Punjab and of these four have arrived in Amritsar city and two companies would assist the Amritsar rural police.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Parminder Singh Bhandal said the Punjab Police were prepared to meet any eventuality and thwart any untoward incident. He said nobody would be allowed to vitiate the peaceful atmosphere.

“Besides, we have started checking suspicious vehicles and asked the police officials to remain alert by activating their information network. We will also hold search operations in outskirts areas and conduct patrolling from time to time. We are focusing on checking vehicles and increasing strength at checkpoints,” he said. Rakesh Kaushal, SSP, Amritsar (rural), said being a border district they had demanded paramilitary forces, besides companies of the state armed police. “Today, we took out a flag march in Ajnala, Ramdass, Jandiala and Rayya. Checkpoints have been increased and we are checking vehicles, especially those being driven by youngsters. We are also verifying the whereabouts of criminals who came out from jail,” said the SSP. Meanwhile, according to information, there are 15,400 arms licences in the city and over 28,100 in the rural belt. Around 50 per cent of the arms holders have deposited their arms with the rural police and over 80 per cent in the city.

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