Cop shot dead near Amritsar, Akali Dal slams Bhagwant Mann govt
The victim has been identified as Joga Singh, who was an Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI). His body was found bearing a gunshot wound, SSP Amritsar Rural Suhail Mir said.
A policeman was shot dead by unidentified assailants near Amritsar while he was on his way to duty during the early hours of Sunday. The victim has been identified as Joga Singh, who was an Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI).
His body was found bearing a gunshot wound, SSP Amritsar Rural Suhail Mir said. The incident is being probed from all possible angles, including personal enmity and road rage, the senior official said.
Reacting to the killing, senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and former Punjab minister Bikram Singh Majithia launched a scathing attack on Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who also holds the home affairs portfolio, and the police administration.
He described the incident as a "damning indictment of Punjab’s Home Minister and temporary" police chief, referring to the prolonged appointment of IPS Gaurav Yadav as the Director General of Police (DGP) in an acting capacity by the AAP government.
In a post on X, Majithia said that "neither police stations nor policemen themselves are safe anymore in a sensitive border state like Punjab." Earlier this year, in March, a police station in the Amritsar district was targeted in a grenade attack, which was later found to be carried out by a group allegedly backed by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
"After repeated attacks on police stations, now even the uniform meant to provide security is being gunned down openly in a sensitive INDO-PAK border area," Majithia wrote in his post.
He further said that a nexus between police and politicians, and a "collapse of law and order" has pushed Punjab towards an environment of "fear, extortion and targeted killings."
"Punjab cannot afford politically influenced policing while extortion, targeted killings and fear continue to grow," the SAD leader said. He added, CM [Bhagwant Mann], the temporary DGP, DSP Majitha and SHO Majitha must resign."