Mann government cracks whip on gangsters and drug mafia, over 90 gangsters arrested or neutralised in a month: Cabinet Minister Aman Arora

Chandigarh, July 24: The Punjab Cabinet Minister Aman Arora on Sunday said that under the decisive leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, over 90 gangsters have been nabbed or neutralised in last one month by the Punjab Police's Anti-Task Force formed recently to eliminate notorious criminals from the state.

Addressing a press conference at Punjab Bhawan here, Information & Public Relations New and Renewable Energy Sources Housing and Urban Development said that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government also neutralised two main sharpshooter, involved in the killing of slain singer Sidhu Moosewala, to deliver justice to Moosewala's family and fans. 

Accusing previous governments of patronizing gangsters and drug mafia, the AAP Minister warned the gangsters and criminals to shun the path of crime otherwise they will be dealt with stern action by the government. He also appealed to gangsters to return to the social mainstream.

Arora said that gangsters and drug mafia flourished during the previous government regimes and they patronised dreadful criminals for their vested interests. However, the AAP government vowed to make Punjab a gangster-free land after forming the government and no anti-elements will be spared at any cost in the state.

Taking on the opposition parties, the Minister said that gangster culture and mafia would not have flourished in Punjab if they were not sheltered by former governments. Due to this, a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) was used to attack Punjab Police’s Intelligence headquarters in Mohali two months back, although these kinds of sophisticated weapons had not even been used when Punjab was in its darkest phase.

Arora said that Punjab has a zero-tolerance policy against criminals and it is a strict warning to history-sheeters to quit the path of crime or be ready to face the music.

He said that there is no godfather to protect the criminals in the AAP government as it used to be during the previous regime and asked criminals to surrender at once and return to the social mainstream.

He said that the Punjab government will adopt a soft stand against them if gangsters are ready to surrender and return to the social mainstream.

Stating that the Mann government has waged war against drugs and extensive anti-drug drives were being launched to eradicate the menace of drugs, Arora praised the functioning of the Punjab police and said police teams had seized over 7 lakh intoxicated tablets, one of the highest recoveries in a day, being smuggled from Uttar Pradesh by peddlers yesterday. Similarly, Punjab police in collaboration with other states have also seized huge quantities of heroin smuggled by international smugglers.

Reiterating his government's dogged commitment, Arora said that the Mann government will eliminate mafia and gangster culture from Punjab in the coming days. He also urged people to inform the government about smugglers and anti-elements around their surroundings to make Punjab criminals free and bring back the lost glory of the state.