LUDHIANA: The director general of Punjab police, K.P.S Gill that the state shall soon get more paramilitary forces to deal with militancy. He did not specify the number. Talking to newsmen, Gill denied that in the wake of army deployment militants had sneaked out to the Neighboring states, He asserted that the militants were in Punjab only but lying low and had formed smaller gangs. Some of them had been caught in their own villages recently, he added.
Gull, who was here to review the security arrangements in the wake of Thursday’s bomb blast which claimed 13 lives, said that Ludhiana and Batala areas were causing concern to the Police duc to the deteriorating law and order situation there. He said security in these areas was being increased. About 400 more policemen were being deployed at Ludhiana, for security duty, in view of the depletion in their ranks.
Gill observed that the militants had explosives as their main weapons as they did not expose them to risk. During this month, there had been two explosions at Jagraon, Batala and Ludhiana. Though there had been blasts at Ludhiana since February last when the former DGP, D.S.Mangat, was injured, yet the blast was different as it was not battery operated, he said.
The state police chief reviewed security arrangements in Ludhiana on Friday at a meeting in which all officers including ‘the SHOs participated. Measures to prevent militant crime were discussed and planned out.
Gill claimed that the state had been witnessing a steady fall in militant crime since the middle of November. The process of deploying army was completed in the beginning of the month, he added. He said the army was being used to cordon off an area and for patrolling, Punjab police was sharing its information with the police in neighboring states to help contain militancy.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 10, 1992
