Shiv Sena (Taksali) leader Sudhir Suri was shot dead in broad daylight during a protest in Punjab’s Amritsar on Friday. The incident that shook the state took place outside a temple in the city where Suri and some other party leaders were holding a protest.
Police have arrested 31-year-old Sandeep Singh, who owns a garment shop near the protest site, for Suri’s murder. Meanwhile, Canada-based gangster Lakhbir Singh Landa, in a social media post, has also claimed the responsibility for the board daylight murder.
Though the police officials were tightlipped over any development in the case, a police official said they were checking the authenticity of the social media post.
Punjab police are yet to make any official statement about the development, as it is reportedly asserting the authenticity of the social media post.
Gang Wars In Punjab
If the claim is proven to be true, it wouldn’t be the first time a popular face was brutally Killed in Punjab. Gang wars in the state are common, and in past few years, they have got bloodier.
The frightful gun culture in Punjab came to the fore recently with the murder of rapper Sidhu Moose Wala in broad daylight. Within hours of Moosewala’s death in September, Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar allegedly took responsibility for the murder.
The name of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who is lodged in Delhi’s Tihar jail, also came to the fore for being involved in the killing. However, Bishnoi’s lawyer has denied his involvement.
Punjab reportedly has around 70 gangs that are involved in kidnapping, murders, and robbery among other crimes. Despite numerous arrests and police encounters over the years, the state has struggled to rein in such gangs.
According to a report by Tribune, the presence of gangs first made headlines in Punjab when the armed gangsters attacked the Nabha Prison and managed to rescue six inmates, two of whom were terrorists and the remaining four gangsters.
At the time, the main gangster behind the incident, Vicky Gounder, along with his aide, was later shot dead by police, while those who led the jail attack were arrested.
The Interconnected Nexus
According to officials in Punjab Police, the chain of gangs is inter-connected and complex. “Every gang wants to prove its supremacy over the other and control territories under their banner,” Tribune reported citing a police official.
The official said that various incidents of violence show that a murder is avenged with a murder.
Explaining the nexus, the police official recalled October 2020, killing of 26-year-old Gurlal Brar, the former state president of the Student Organisation of Panjab University. Brar was an acquaintance of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.
Later, Beant Singh, the alleged shooter, arrested by the Moga police in 2021, revealed that he, along with two of his accomplices, had allegedly killed Gurlal Brar to avenge the 2017 murder of Lavi Deora, an associate of the Bambiha group. Deora was allegedly killed by members of the Bishnoi gang.
In retaliation, on October 22, 2020, Ranjit Singh, alias Rana Sidhu was shot dead at Aulakh village on the Muktsar-Malout highway. According to then Muktsar SSP D Sudarvizhi gandGoldy Brar, currently in Canada, and two other accused were yet to be arrested. Goldy wanted to avenge the death of his cousin, Gurlal Brar, who was shot in Chandigarh,” he said.
In February 2021, Gurlal Pehalwan from Faridkot was shot dead and later the Punjab DGP claimed that the killing was organised by Goldy Brar, Canada based gangster, with the help of Lawrence Bishnoi, to avenge the murder of his cousin Gurlal.
In August 2021, Youth Akali Dal leader Vicky Middukhera was shot dead in broad daylight in Mohali. At the time, name of Sidhu Moosewala’s manager came up in the case, along with that of Bambiha and Haryana-based gang members.
Now, the death of Sidhu Moose Wala is increasingly getting linked to a turf war between the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and the Davinder Bambhia gang.
“Now, it is anybody’s guess what we expect next as the gang rivalries have reached another level and a couple of Punjabi singers already face threat. We need to act strictly and ensure justice and arrest the masterminds behind these cases. But in majority of the cases, they are abroad,” said an IPS officer.
Most dreaded gangsters of Punjab
- Lawrence Bishnoi, whose gang allegedly killed singer Sidhu Moose Wala.
- Canada-based Goldy Brar, whose real name is Satinder Singh. He is a close aide of Lawrence Bishnoi.
- Harjinder Singh Bhullar aka Vicky Gounder. Gaunder is a former state-level discus thrower.
- Dilpreet Singh Dhahan, who claimed responsibility for shooting and injuring Punjabi singer Parmish Verma in Mohali in April 2018.
- Sukhbir Singh Kahlwan aka Sukha Kahlon. Kahlon has about 40 cases filed against him in Punjab, Haryana, West Bengal and Rajasthan.
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