70 active gangs, over 500 gangsters and counting

Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 4

As many 70 organised gangs with over 500 known members are active in the state with 300 of them lodged in different jails.

The number of gangs has mushroomed in last five to seven years by three times.

Jaswinder Singh alias Rocky, a criminal-turned-politician, murdered few days ago, was one of them. He was allegedly killed due to an old rivalry with another gangster, Jaipal Singh, who is at large.

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Police records reveal that the leaders of the gangs were mostly student leaders, sportspersons or landlords having a links with politicians and the police.

Amritsar region has about 100 gangsters, Khanna 70, and Mohali 70. The ones from Fazilka, Muktsar, Faridkot, Ferozepur and Moga are the most notorious.

"Their number is on the rise. It is worrisome but things are in control. Punjab is not like other states where gangs openly carry out kidnappings for ransom and murders. The police here keep a tight leash on their activities," claimed a senior officer.

The activities of gangs are contract killings, land grabbing, extortion, sand mining, real estate and loan recovery, reveal police sources.

An official who is tracking the gangsters' progress said: "For the past few years, especially after the advent of the IPL T20 cricket, the bookies were using gangsters to collect payments. The money involved is huge. Contrary to popular perception, only few of the gangsters are involved with drug smugglers."

They thrive on police-politician nexus. "They are the dons of their respective area. That is their main aim, besides, of course, living a high life. It is all about area dominance. The moment there is a challenger or one who rises among the ranks to stake a share among the loot, shootouts happen. Some lucky ones not just remain alive but rise high in politics and become law-makers. That is the greatest tragedy for our democracy," said a retired police official wishing not to be quoted.

While gangsters use their influence to broaden their base, get immunity from the reach of the law, the politicians and the police use them for their own ends before eventually discarding them.

The hope that the state jails will act as a platform to reform the accused has been dashed with the prisons acting as breeding grounds and training fields for gangsters.

"Around 300-325 gang members are lodged in different jails in the state," claimed a jail official.

About 40 such gangsters are lodged in Nabha Jail where a number of terrorists are also imprisoned. Police sources said: "Gangsters have an easy life in jails. They get money, access to phones and have been found plotting major crimes inside the jails."