Chandigarh:
With the 2027 assembly elections approaching in Punjab, a broader security concern is emerging in the state. Over the past three months, Punjab Police have repeatedly recovered sophisticated firearms, including AK-47s, an AK-56, an MP-9, high-end pistols and hand grenades. Political workers and local elected representatives have been killed, while a serving police officer was also shot dead on duty.
The developments raise a larger question: What does the availability of sophisticated illegal weapons indicate about the state’s evolving law-and-order and security challenge ahead of the election?
Pistols To Assault Rifles, Grenades
In July, police operations included the recovery of 12 pistols and six hand grenades at an alleged cross-border module, 15 illegal pistols in an inter-state arms-smuggling case and several other weapons. An AK-47, a modified M4-type weapon and another .30-bore rifle were also recovered during a Rural operation in Amritsar.
In August, separate operations resulted in the recovery of an MP-9 rifle and seven pistols, followed by seizures of seven, six, 10, nine and another 10 pistols. On August 28, the police reported the recovery of eight high-end pistols in two operations.
September saw further major seizures. Police recovered two AK-47 rifles and 50 cartridges in one operation, while another crackdown on illegal arms networks led to the recovery of 13 pistols and 23 cartridges. Faridkot Police separately recovered 10 pistols and 20 cartridges from an alleged cross-border arms network.
On September 30, hours before Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s Jalandhar rally, Punjab Police announced the busting of three drug and illegal-arms networks, recovering more than 13 pistols, 22 cartridges and 3 kg of heroin.
The September 30-October 4 period saw another striking development in Amritsar Rural, where police recovered an AK-47 and AK-56 in one operation and another AK-47 along with two hand grenades in another.
Political Workers, Local Leaders Targeted
The arms recoveries have come alongside a series of murders of politically connected individuals.
On July 21, AAP sarpanch Satpal Singh alias Mintu of Anandgarh village in Hoshiarpur was allegedly attacked with sharp-edged weapons before being run over by a vehicle.
On August 29, AAP worker Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi was shot dead in Mamdot, Ferozepur. Another AAP worker was injured and a vehicle carrying Mamdot Nagar panchayat president Vicky Maini was also targeted. The police’s preliminary investigation pointed to an old election-related rivalry.
In September, AAP sarpanch Kuljit Singh Sandhu of Mahimad Mandarawala village in Ajnala went missing and was later found dead near Ramdas.
On September 25, SAD-linked leader Navpreet Singh alias Navi was shot dead at Adda Gaggo Buha in Tarn Taran. Police initially examined a personal dispute rather than a political motive.
On October 3, former Akali sarpanch Navtej Singh was shot dead by motorcycle-borne assailants near Ladhowal in Ludhiana. The police are investigating a long-running property dispute and possible involvement of contract killers.
These cases should not all be categorised as political murders, as police investigations have pointed to personal, property or local rivalries in several cases.
Cop Killed On Night Patrol
The security concern extends beyond political workers.
On September 18, Punjab Police officer Harjit Singh was shot dead by motorcycle-borne assailants while on night patrol near the Bhagtanwala grain market in Amritsar. He was attached to the Gate Hakima Police Control Room. The attack was carried out while he was performing his duty, and police were investigating the motive and identifying the attackers.
The killing came amid a wider series of attacks on Punjab Police personnel in 2026. The February killing of another officer, Gurnam Singh, and Home Guard Ashok Kumar at a Gurdaspur border checkpost and the May killing of officer Joga Singh near Majitha fall outside the three-month period, but provide important background to the growing concern over attacks on the police.
What Arms Trail Means Ahead of polls
The significance of these recoveries is not merely the number of weapons seized. It is also the nature of the weapons being recovered.
The seizure of AK-series rifles, grenades and sophisticated pistols, along with investigations into alleged cross-border and drone-assisted consignments, points to the continuing availability of organised illegal arms networks in Punjab.
The political significance becomes sharper ahead of the 2027 elections. Punjab’s electoral structure relies heavily on local-level political workers, sarpanches, municipal representatives and village networks. The killing of such figures, even when the motive is not established as political, adds to concerns about the security environment surrounding local political activity.
The question for the security establishment and political parties is whether these weapons networks remain primarily connected to organised crime and drug trafficking, or whether the growing availability of sophisticated firearms could increasingly intersect with local rivalries, election-related violence and attacks on political workers.
With drugs and law and order already emerging as major political issues ahead of 2027, the arms trail adds another dimension to the state’s security challenge.
The story, therefore, is not just about how many weapons Punjab Police have recovered. It is about why sophisticated weapons are reaching Punjab, how they are being supplied, who is using them, and whether the illegal arms ecosystem could become a bigger law-and-order and political-security issue as the state moves towards the 2027 assembly elections.
