After Sidhu Moose Wala, now Sudhir Suri slain: How severe is Punjab’s gun violence problem?

On Friday, right-wing leader Sudhir Suri was shot dead in Punjab’s Amritsar.

Suri’s murder is made even more shocking coming as it did in broad daylight outside Gopal Mandir on Majitha Road — one of the busiest places in the city — while he was surrounded by a dozen police officers.

Police said the assailant got off more than five shots at Suri, who fell down and lost consciousness. The Shiv Sena leader (unaffiliated the Maharashtra party) was rushed to a hospital, but succumbed to bullet injuries, they said.

While police said one accused has been arrested and the weapon used in the crime seized, there are reports that some accomplices may have escaped.

Police also said Suri was on the hit list of several gangsters for a long time and had been provided security by the government.

Around eight Punjab Police personnel were with him, they added.

Let’s take a look at Punjab’s problem with guns and violence:

Suri’s murder brings back memories of the killing of Sidhu Moose Wala, the singer-politician that was shot dead in Punjab’s Mansa district in May.

Authorities have pointed the finger at the Lawrence Bishnoi gang for being behind Moose Wala’s killing, saying they suspected he was close to the Bambiha gang.

That incident came a day after the Bhagwant Mann state government curtailed Moose Wala’s security cover.

At the time, leaders of the Congress and other political parties expressed shock and anger over the killing and blamed the AAP government for the incident.

The then state police chief said Moosewala’s security cover was scaled down to free personnel for deployment during the Operation Bluestar anniversary.

Two of the four Punjab police commandos deployed with Moosewala were withdrawn, he added.

Violence, a recurring problem for Punjab

Moose Wala and Suri aren’t the only victims.

In 2016 and 2017, when the Akali Dal-BJP combine and the Congress were in power, the state witnessed a series of murders of right-wing and religious leaders, mostly from Hindutva outfits, as per NDTV.

In October 2017, two unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants shot dead 60-year-old Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) leader Gosain in the Kailash Nagar locality in Ludhiana.

Gosain was returning home after attending a morning drill (RSS shakha) when he was attacked, they said. He died on the spot while the attackers fled, according to police officials.

The crime was the eighth such incident in the state since 2016.

In June 2017 pastor Sultan Masih was shot dead by two motorcycle borne persons at the Peerubanda Mohalla in Ludhiana. The assailants fired multiple shots at the pastor, killing him on the spot.

On the evening of 25 February, 2017, two unidentified gunmen shot dead two Dera Sacha Sauda followers – Satpal (65) and his son Ramesh Kumar (35) when they were working at the sect’s canteen at Jagera village, about 55 km from Ludhiana.

On 14 January, 2017, two unidentified motorcycle borne assailants shot dead the leader of an organisation called ‘Hindu Takhat’, Amit Sharma, near the Durga Mata Mandir in Ludhiana.

On 6 August, 2016, RSS leader Brig Jagdish Gagneja (Retd) was shot at in Jalandhar. He later died at the DMC hospital in Ludhiana.

This incident led to question marks being raised over the law and order situation under the previous SAD-BJP regime. When Punjab Police failed to crack the case, it was handed over to the CBI by the then Parkash Singh Badal led government.

In May 2016, a Sikh preacher Ranjit Singh Dhadrianwale was attacked as some youths opened indiscriminate fire at his cavalcade in Ludhiana. Though Dhadrianwale had a miracle escape, an aide died in the attack.

In April 2016, Durga Prasad Gupta, chief of the Shiv Sena’s labour wing in Punjab was shot dead by two motorcycle-borne assailants at Khanna near Ludhana. In April 2015, 85-year-old Mata Chand Kaur, wife of late chief of the Namdhari sect Satguru Jagjit Singh, was also shot dead by bike-borne assailants at Bhaini Sahib complex near Ludhiana.

The question then, is how serious is the gun problem in Punjab?

Gun violence in Punjab

While armchair experts may blame the state’s woes on stars such as Moose Wala glorifying guns and a ‘gangster lifestyle’, the statistics tell a different tale.

As per The Federal, the 2020 NCRB report showed Punjab accounted for a mere 362 firearms-related cases under the Arms Act, 1959.

That’s out of a total 44,789 cases nationwide.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh sat atop the table with 26,530 cases.

Total arms seizure in Punjab, as per volume-III of the report was 881 compared to 37,616 for Uttar Pradesh.

Looking back even further, the NCRB statistics between 2016 and 2020 show that Punjab reported 2,073 cases relating to arms – an average of 400 cases per year, as per The Print.

Meanwhile, Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh recorded a staggering 1,204 cases every year in this period. Over the last five years, the district recorded 6,204 cases.

Punjab also boasts low incidents of crimes reported under arms and explosives-related matters when measured by its population, the piece noted.

As per The Print, Punjab reported 1.4 arms-related cases per year on average for 1 lakh population.

That’s nearly 3 to 4 times lower than the national average of 4.8.

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh has the highest rate of arms- related cases. For every 1 lakh people, the state records at least 14 cases a year.

In Uttar Pradesh, the rate stands at 13 per lakh, followed by Delhi (9) and Uttarakhand and Rajasthan with eight each.

Opposition slams AAP dispensation

Punjab BJP president Ashwani Sharma, slamming the Mann government, said law and order situation has completely broken down.

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Tajinder Singh Bagga also said law and order has collapsed in Punjab.

Amit Malviya also raised the law and order issue.

“When asked why Punjab Govt failed to compensate farmers and address the parali burning issue, Arvind Kejriwal responded saying they were busy fixing the law and order situation. Really? First Moosewala and now Sudhir Suri has been shot dead. What exactly did Kejriwal fix then?” Malviya asked as per Hindustan Times.

BJP’s Priti Gandhi tweeted, “Right under the nose of several police officers in Amritsar, Hindu activist Sudhir Suri was shot dead at point blank range. He was reportedly on the hitlist of pro-Khalistani elements. Meanwhile, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann is busy with AAP’s election campaign in Gujarat. What a shame!!”.

Punjab Congress head Amarinder Singh Raja Warring chimed in on Twitter, “Law and order is deteriorating and going from bad to worse. @INCIndia condemns murderous attack on Shiv Sena leader in Amritsar. Political differences apart, violence is unacceptable.”

Former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh also added his voice.

“I appeal everyone to maintain peace & harmony & fight enemies of Punjab together. While it reflects poorly on law and order situation in Punjab, I hope culprits are given exemplary punishment,” Amarinder tweeted.

Writing fo_r News18_, Rajiv Tuli summed up the situation in Punjab  thus, “When the famous Punjabi singer Siddhu Moose Wala was brutally murdered in broad daylight, many people thought that the two-month-old AAP government is a new government and may take some more time to control things particularly on the front of law and order.”

But the situation turned from bad to worse he added with a prime accused in the singer’s murder fleeing police custody in broad daylight and the headquarters of Punjab Police’s intelligence wing being attacked with a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG).

“The administration is not ready to act since the top leadership is directionless. The multiple crises facing the state need serious action, more than political gimmickry and ad-hoc steps,” Tuli wrote.

He said that while citizens of the state gave a mandate for change, they are still waiting for it to manifest.

With inputs from ag1encies

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