On February 23, an armed mob led by radical preacher Amritpal Singh laid siege to a police station in Ajnala, Punjab, demanding the release of his close associate, Lovepreet Singh alias Toofan Singh, who had been arrested in an alleged kidnapping and theft case. The mob demanded the FIR filed against them be canceled and Lovepreet be released. The police gave in to their demands and Lovepreet was released after a local court issued the order. Despite six policemen getting injured in the violence at the station, the police are yet to register any FIR in the Ajnala matter. The Punjab government transferred 18 police officers, including Amritsar Commissioner of Police Jaskaran Singh, in response to the incident. People in Punjab are feeling insecure and afraid due to the recent incidents, such as the murder of rapper and songwriter Sidhu Moosewala in Mansa district, the explosion at the Punjab Police’s Intelligence Wing headquarters in Mohali, and the killing of a Dera Sacha Sauda follower in Kotkapura in a shoot-out. The AAP government in Punjab has largely been on the back foot over the breakdown of law and order, and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has been downplaying the situation. The government has asserted that no one will be allowed to disturb the hard-earned peace of the state and the government is committed to maintaining law and order.
