In New Delhi on December 11, Congress MP Amrinder Singh Raja Warring pleaded with Union Home Minister Amit Shah to step in and curb extortion, urging a sharper focus on law‑and‑order in Punjab.
During a session of the lower house, Warring described a climate of terror gripping the state. “Business owners are being harassed by phone—calls from abroad and from prison, with ransom demands,” he warned.
“If people do not pay, they are killed. Just last week in Ludhiana, a wedding event turned violent at around 1:30 p.m.; two rival gangs clashed and several guests were caught in the crossfire,” he added.
The MP also slammed the Shiromani Akali Dal for “giving” a ticket to a known gangster, suggesting the party is effectively letting criminals thrive in politics.
“These gangsters are openly calling local leaders and threatening them on the phone to secure votes. The situation is such that now criminals are calling, threatening both politicians and bureaucrats,” Warring said.
He further criticized a recent move by authorities to confine a notorious gangster to jail in another state, thereby restricting his transfer for trial elsewhere.
“Punjab is in a crisis and the authorities seem impotent,” he lamented.
“Despite all this, the state government and police continue to stay by the sidelines. I therefore urge the Home Minister to acknowledge this crisis and help Punjab.”
The 2022 murder of Punjabi star Sidhu Moosewala highlighted the surge of gangster activity in the region, spotlighting the Lawrence Bishnoi‑Gold Brar syndicate.
In November 2024, Anmol Bishnoi—brother of the incarcerated Lawrence Bishnoi—was arrested in California after entering the U.S. with forged travel documents, only to be returned to India.
According to the National Investigation Agency, Anmol is a key operative in the BKI‑Bishnoi syndicate and suspected of having Khalistani ties, which is a major focus of the probe.
He faces multiple charges, including the conspiracy behind the killing of former Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Baba Siddique, who was shot in Mumbai last October.
Earlier, former Punjab deputy chief minister and Congress MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa claimed that jailed gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuriya had threatened to kill his son, and that his son was shot at shortly after the threat in Punjab.
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