‘Criminals are operating with impunity’: Punjab and Haryana high court censures Punjab police over law and order; summons DGP | India News

CHANDIGARH: Coming down heavily on Punjab Police over the murder of a kabaddi player in public view, the Punjab and Haryana high court has directed the DGP to appear in person and explain why adequate security arrangements were not made at the stadium, where nearly a thousand spectators had gathered.The DGP has been asked to explain what steps are being taken to curb organised crime in the state and to prevent such incidents in the future.“Criminals armed with pistols entering a stadium, firing several shots and escaping in the presence of a thousand spectators and scores of policemen on duty, indicates that the criminals had a free run. There have been several other instances of targeted killings, some of which have been captured in CCTV footage. It is, therefore, manifest that criminals are operating with impunity, which raises serious questions regarding the law and order situation in the state,” observed the division bench of Justice Anupinder Singh Grewal.Justice Grewal also asked the DGP why the culprits (the two shooters) managed to escape and have not been nabbed yet, and directed him to submit the duty roster of police officials who were deployed at the stadium on that date.“It has come to our notice that on Dec 15, a few criminals shot dead a former kabaddi player during a match in a stadium in Sector-79, SAS Nagar, Mohali. The match was telecast live and CCTV footage indicates that several shots were fired by two persons in the presence of about a thousand spectators. It appears no effort was made by any police officer to apprehend the culprits, which is deplorable,” observed the bench.During the hearing on Wednesday, the state counsel, on the instructions from SP (investigation) Saurav Jindal, submitted that the two shooters have been identified and efforts are on to nab them. Five other criminals associated with the crime have been arrested.In its order, the bench observed that it had on Dec 23, 2023, expressed grave concern over the telecast of an interview of a criminal (Lawrence Bishnoi) glorifying crime and criminals. It had the tendency to influence young impressionable minds, the court noted with concern.“We had, therefore, directed the Punjab DGP to file an affidavit on whether there has been any spurt in crime, including extortion and targeted killings, after the telecast of the interview. He filed the affidavit mentioning details of such incidents. In response to the order of this court dated July 16, 2025, on what steps are being taken to combat the menace of extortion calls, organized crime, targeted killings etc., the DGP filed an affidavit dated August 26 setting out the measures taken by police to combat the menace,” the high court recorded in its order, and fixed the next hearing on January 15.