Punjab cop attacks reveal a pattern of bike-borne shooters, cross-border arms
Assistant Sub-Inspector Harjit Singh was shot dead by motorcycle-borne assailants near the Bhagtanwala grain market in Amritsar.
The killing of Assistant Sub-Inspector Harjit Singh in Amritsar on Friday has brought into sharp focus a disturbing pattern that Punjab Police and security agencies believe may point towards a wider cross-border terror-gangster conspiracy. An India Today exclusive on inside details attempts to unravel the entire dubious plot to disturb peace in the bordering state.
Harjit Singh, around 50, was on PCR duty when two unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants allegedly followed and opened fire on him near Gate No. 2 of the Bhagtanwala grain market in the early hours of September 18.
He sustained a fatal gunshot injury and later died. Preliminary investigation indicated that the attackers struck at close range and fled swiftly. Police have been examining CCTV footage and telecom data to reconstruct the movements of the assailants.
The attack has particular significance because it came barely a week after another shooting targeting a Punjab Police ASI in the Amritsar border belt. Security officials are now examining whether apparently separate attacks form part of a common operational pattern involving local shooters, externally supplied weapons and handlers operating from across the border.
PATTERN OF COPS BEING HUNTED
Harjit Singh's killing is the latest in a series of attacks on Punjab Police and security personnel during 2026.
The sequence began with the February 22 killing of ASI Gurnam Singh and Home Guard personnel Ashok Kumar, who were found shot dead at a police checkpost in Adhian village of Gurdaspur district, around two kilometres from the India-Pakistan border.
The next fatal attack listed by Punjab Police occurred on March 7, when Constable Jagjit Singh was killed.
On May 24, ASI Joga Singh was shot dead while travelling towards duty near Majitha. Police said two motorcycle-borne assailants intercepted him and fled after the shooting. At the time, investigators were examining multiple possibilities, including personal enmity, road rage and a targeted attack.
On September 11, ASI Jaswant Singh, posted in the Ajnala area, survived another apparent hit-and-run shooting. He was attacked by motorcycle-borne assailants while returning home after duty. A bullet grazed his head, passing through his turban. He managed to reach Ajnala police station on his motorcycle.
The September attacks have intensified scrutiny because of their striking similarities: vulnerable personnel travelling alone, motorcycle-borne attackers, close-range firing and rapid escape.
TALIBAN-SHAHZAD BHATTI NETWORK LINK
A major line of investigation is the alleged involvement of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Hindustan (TTH) and its links with the Pakistan-based Shahzad Bhatti network.
TTH claimed responsibility for the attack on Jaswant Singh, according to the investigation.
Security agencies are examining whether the same network could be behind the attack on Harjit Singh. The authenticity and operational significance of such claims must, however, be established through investigation.
The Centre on September 16 designated the Shahzad Bhatti Network as a terrorist organisation under the UAPA.
The Union Home Ministry has alleged that the Pakistan-based network is involved in cross-border trafficking of arms, explosives and narcotics and in recruiting young people and petty criminals for terrorist activity.
For Punjab Police, the significance lies in the alleged convergence of two ecosystems: Pakistan-based handlers and supply networks on one side, and local criminal or radicalised foot soldiers on the other.
Investigators suspect that young local operatives can be recruited for individual attacks while weapons and instructions are supplied through established smuggling channels.
The model reduces the visibility of foreign handlers while allowing attacks to be executed by individuals familiar with local terrain.
ARMS TRAIL: WHAT PUNJAB POLICE SEIZED
The series of weapons recoveries reported by Punjab Police in September has added another layer to the investigation. Among the seizures listed by the force are:
- September 3: 8 illegal .30-bore pistols and 103 live cartridges.
- September 7: 15 illegal pistols along with 5 kg heroin.
- September 9: 3 sophisticated foreign-made pistols, magazines and 5 kg ICE.
- September 10: 2 AK-47 rifles, 3 magazines and 50 live cartridges.
- September 11: 2 sophisticated .30-bore pistols and 10 live cartridges, in a case linked by investigators to a targeted-killing plot.
- September 13: 6 pistols and 49 live cartridges.
- September 15: 1 illegal .30-bore pistol, along with heroin and opium.
- September 16: 1 foreign-made .30-bore PX5 pistol and 3 cartridges, alongside 27 kg heroin.
The September 16 recovery was made by Punjab Police's Counter Intelligence wing in Amritsar during a cross-border smuggling investigation.
Police said the consignment included a sophisticated foreign-made .30-bore PX5 pistol and linked the case to a suspected external handler.
The repeated recovery of .30-bore weapons is particularly significant because investigators say the same category of weapon was used in recent attacks.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said preliminary findings in the Harjit Singh case indicated that the officer was struck by a .30-bore round fired at close range.
DRONES ADD NEW LAYER TO CONSPIRACY
Security officials are also examining the growing use of drones for moving arms and narcotics across the international border.
According to security sources cited in the investigation, a surge in drone crossings over the Amritsar sector has coincided with the recovery of pistols, rifles and narcotics.
Officials suspect that while some drones are intercepted, others may be reaching pre-designated drop zones where local receivers collect the consignments.
Punjab has responded by expanding its anti-drone architecture. The police have deployed anti-drone systems, Drone Response Teams and additional detection platforms in border districts, while coordinating with the BSF.
SECURITY FORCES’ OPERATIONAL CHALLENGE
Yet the emerging concern is that technology used by smugglers and handlers is evolving rapidly. Security officials believe larger-payload drones could potentially transport greater quantities of weapons and drugs in a single sortie.
On paper, the Punjab Police announced deployment of nine anti-drone systems. Three "Baaj Akh (hawk-eye)" systems have been operational in Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Ferozepur since August 2025 with the aim of providing early detection and jamming of rogue drones. But the technological changes are so rapid that anti-drones are barely managing to catch up. As a result, rogue drones manage to come through to enclaves where it is easier to drop consignments.
Also, Punjab Police operates 52 Drone Response Teams with 147 personnel alongside the BSF, supported by 64 defence nakas and 2,367 CCTV cameras across 585 locations.
However, outdated anti-drone systems require upgrades, while officials seek Rs 2,000 crore for advanced radar technology. Fixed nakas offer limited deterrence, prompting calls for mobile checks.
The operational challenge, therefore, is no longer limited to stopping individual shooters. It involves disrupting the entire chain—from cross-border financing and drone-based delivery to local recruitment, weapon distribution and execution of attacks.
For Punjab Police, the recent killings have exposed precisely that vulnerability.
Personnel travelling alone on predictable routes can become soft targets, while the weapons reaching the state through clandestine channels can be rapidly placed in the hands of local operatives.
With the latest killing of Harjit Singh, investigators are now attempting to establish whether the attacks constitute isolated incidents or components of a coordinated campaign.
The answer will depend on forensic evidence, CCTV trails, telecom analysis, arrests and the tracing of recovered weapons.
What is increasingly clear, however, is that the investigation has moved beyond individual shootings.
Punjab Police and security agencies are examining a possible ecosystem in which cross-border arms and narcotics networks, Pakistan-based handlers and local foot soldiers intersect—creating a potentially dangerous pipeline from the border to targeted violence on Punjab's streets.