Punjab is facing three major challenges, including terrorism, organised crime and narcotics, due to its border proximity with Pakistan, and the state police is taking on the challenges with full force to counter the proxy war waged by the neighbouring country. This was stated by Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav while inaugurating an office of the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) in Jalandhar.

 

Mr. Yadav said the number of consignments of small arms from across the border through drones has increased to 400 per cent after Operation Sindoor.

 

The police chief said foreign-based handlers are recruiting youngsters between the age group of 18 to 30 through social media and personally to commit crimes in the state. He said most of these youngsters are school dropouts and are committing crimes for money. He cautioned the youth not to fall prey to the anti-social elements.

 

About the regular emails being received about conducting bomb blasts at various schools and other important places in Punjab, Mr. Yadav said that these are mainly hoax emails; however, police are not taking them lightly. He disclosed that the Punjab Police has traced some computer servers sending these emails to Bangladesh and is in an advanced stage of finding them in coordination with the central and international agencies.  

 

Meanwhile, he said the specialised ANTF unit set up in Jalandhar will substantially enhance the ability to identify key drug traffickers and dismantle interstate and international drug syndicates operating in Punjab. This is the second such unit after Patiala, and two more would be set up in Ludhiana and Ferozepur within a few months.