Chandigarh, February 23 Opposition parties in Punjab on Monday criticized the AAP government over the killing of two police personnel in Gurdaspur, with the BJP and the Congress demanding a transparent investigation into the matter.
Two police personnel were found shot dead at a checkpost in Gurdaspur near the Indo-Pak border on Sunday.
The bodies of assistant sub-inspector Gurnam Singh and home guard Ashok Kumar, who were posted at Adhian, about 2 km from the international border, were found inside the checkpost.
Criticizing the AAP government, Punjab Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa said he has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him for a transparent investigation into the matter.
"I have written to PM @narendramodi ji regarding the tragic killing of ASI Gurnam Singh and Home Guard jawan Ashok Kumar at Dorangla, Gurdaspur. Punjab deserves clarity. I have urged for a transparent investigation and a clear, coordinated factual briefing to end speculation and restore public confidence," Bajwa said in a post on X.
"The incident has raised disturbing questions regarding the circumstances under which two security personnel were killed inside a sensitive outpost. Reports indicate that CCTV footage showed suspicious movement near the post prior to the incident, yet there has been no clear, conclusive and unified statement from either the Punjab Police or the Border Security Force," he said.
In the absence of authoritative communication, social media platforms are flooded with unverified claims and fear-inducing narratives, creating anxiety among citizens across Punjab and beyond, he added.
BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh sought an NIA inquiry into the incident and also demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for "completely failing" to maintain law and order in the border state.
Terming it a "collapse" of the security network along the border, Chugh blamed the Mann government for "allowing disruptive and anti-national forces to have a field day in Punjab".
He further said that over the past four years, Punjab's law and order situation has "significantly deteriorated".
Congress MP from Gurdaspur, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, too wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, demanding a probe into the killings of two policemen.
"I have written a letter to Union Home Minister Shri @AmitShah demanding that this be treated as a possible terrorist attack, and calling for a high-level investigation, review of BSF-Punjab Police coordination, and ensuring justice for the families of the martyrs," he said.
In his letter to Shah, Randhawa said the incident has gravely shaken public confidence in the capacity of our security apparatus to safeguard frontline personnel deployed on sensitive duties.
"Credible inputs available with me indicate that the check-post where Assistant Sub-Inspector Gurnam Singh and Home Guard Ashok Kumar were found dead was intended to function as a joint 'naka' of the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Punjab Police, forming part of the second line of defence along the international border.
"It has been said that the BSF contingent detailed for the joint naka did not report for duty on the relevant night," he said.
Randhawa claimed that even the following morning, neither the outgoing BSF party nor the relieving Punjab Police party reached the post at the scheduled time, and the bodies were discovered only after local residents raised the alarm.
"If these facts are borne out by investigation, they suggest not merely a distressing lapse in duty of care towards our personnel, but a deeper systemic failure of supervision, coordination and real-time monitoring between the BSF and the Punjab Police in a sector universally acknowledged to be highly sensitive," he noted.
The gravity of the situation is compounded by reports that Pakistan-based or Pakistan-oriented extremist organisations and their sympathisers are attempting to exploit the incident for propaganda, issuing threats to Indian military, paramilitary and police personnel that they will "meet the same fate" if they do not abandon their posts, the Congress MP said.
"Such messaging aligns with recent patterns of cross-border terror propaganda and reviving Khalistani narratives targeting security installations in and around Gurdaspur and other border districts.
"In my respectful submission, the incident must therefore be treated as a terrorist attack unless and until a professional investigation conclusively determines otherwise, rather than being viewed as an isolated law-and-order occurrence," he said.