Punjab, which once reeked of Sikh culture, music and greenery, is now burning in the fire of gang war. Last week night in Batala, gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuria’s mother Harjit Kaur and her relative Karanvir Singh were brutally murdered by two motorcycle-borne youths while sitting in a Scorpio. This bloody game was played by the Davinder Bambiha gang to avenge the murder of Gurpreet Singh alias Gora Bariyar in May. But this incident made it clear that gang war is no longer limited to gangsters alone, but has also crossed the boundaries of family homes. Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, who is a terror in the criminal world of Punjab and is facing more than 128 cases, is lodged in Silchar jail in Assam. Jaggu’s mother Harjit Kaur, who was a former sarpanch of Bhagwanpur village, . According to the villagers, she used to get poor girls married and settle disputes. But this fire of gang war extinguished the flame of his life forever.
Bambiha gang members Doni Bal, Billa Manga, Prabh Dasuwal and Kaushal Chaudhary took to social media to claim responsibility for the murder, saying that Karanvir Singh was Jaggu’s right-hand man, who handled all his criminal activities. They called it revenge for the murder of Gora Bariyar. But the next day, another post by the Bambiha gang surprised everyone, in which they called the murder of Harjit Kaur a ‘mistake’. According to them, they only wanted to target Karanvir, but they were not aware of Harjit Kaur’s presence. In this post, he apologized and said, “Mothers are common to all.”
In response to this, Jaggu Bhagwanpuria’s team also expressed their anger on social media. In their post, it was written that our enmity is between us, not with families. Harjit Kaur solved financial problems for me, her murder was wrong. Now the limits will be crossed.” Thus, the social media posts of both the groups have fueled the possibility of further intensification of gang war in Punjab.
Serious allegations against Congress leader
A new twist in this bloody game came when Jaggu’s aunt Rajwinder Kaur accused Congress MP and former Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa of the murder. According to Rajwinder, the murder was committed due to political and business rivalry. She also accused Randhawa, his son Udayvir Singh, Amandeep Singh Jantipuria, Ravinder Singh and Nirmal Singh of being involved. Rajwinder claimed that the attackers called Randhawa after the murder and said, “We did the job.” A complaint has been filed with the Batala police, but Randhawa has maintained silence on the matter, only saying that he will say something only after the investigation. This has also created a stir in Punjab politics, due to which the issue of gang war is also taking on a political colour.
Gangsters’ network in Punjab, government failure?
This new form of gang war in Punjab, where family members are being targeted, has become a big challenge for the society. The state has a long list of gangsters like Vicky Gounder, Lawrence Bishnoi, Prema Lahoria, Goldie Brar and Davinder Bambiha. According to statistics, more than 30 organized gangs are active in Punjab, which are involved in drug smuggling, extortion, murder and illegal trade of arms. The government and the police made many claims to stop drugs and gang war, but the murder of Harjit Kaur makes it clear that the situation is getting out of hand. Now the government has to implement strict policies and Big action is needed. The silence of the police and the threats of gangsters on social media have created an atmosphere of fear among the people. The police need to be strict, otherwise this bloody game will swallow the peace of the state forever.
