Drones, DJs, Juveniles: Punjab's New Security Challenge Ahead Of Elections

With elections approaching, the sharp rise in the recovery of illegal weapons along the Amritsar border has emerged as a major security concern, underlining the growing challenge for Punjab's law enforcement agencies. 

In the first 27 days of June alone, various security agencies recovered 74 pistols from the Amritsar border. The haul also included an AK-47 rifle, two sub-machine guns and hundreds of live cartridges, pointing to a sustained cross-border effort to push sophisticated weapons into the state.

Officials believe the recovered weapons were meant for criminal gangs and organised crime networks operating in Punjab and neighbouring states, raising fears of an increase in violent crimes and political violence in the run-up to the elections.

Police Commissioner of Amritsar, Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said the repeated recoveries indicate that smugglers continue to exploit drones and other covert routes to infiltrate weapons despite enhanced border surveillance.

Juveniles increasingly used as couriers

Highlighting the changing tactics of cross-border smuggling networks, Bhullar said criminal syndicates are increasingly recruiting juveniles to transport illegal arms because they face comparatively lenient legal consequences if caught.

"There are different modus operandi which have been adopted by the smugglers from across the border. One is to hire juveniles who pick these arms and supply to different states like Rajasthan, Jammu, Haryana etc. Juveniles are hired since they get easy bails and are not even sent to prison but juvenile homes," said Mr Bhullar.

Bhullar also pointed to the growing role of social media in facilitating cross-border crime.

"Social media is a platform which allows the smugglers to target and hire vulnerable individuals here. We keep tracking these accounts and have been arresting such people as well within and outside Punjab," said Bhullar.

Investigators say online platforms have become an effective tool for Pakistan-based handlers to identify, contact and recruit vulnerable youth, making enforcement more challenging.

Loud DJ music used to mask drone activity

Despite the deployment of anti-drone systems along the over 500-km Punjab-Pakistan border, smugglers continue to devise innovative ways to evade detection.

According to police, smugglers in border villages deliberately play high-volume DJ music on nights when consignments are expected, helping conceal the sound of incoming drones from residents and security personnel. "On the day of delivery of consignment from drone, smugglers based in the border villages will play loud music on DJ to muzzle the sound of flying drone," added Mr Bhullar. 

Officials say such tactics make it more difficult to detect low-flying drones, allowing smugglers to retrieve consignments before security agencies can respond.

Growing threat to law and order

The surge in illegal arms recoveries comes against the backdrop of several incidents of broad daylight killings involving political leaders and civilians over the past six months. Security agencies fear that the easy availability of sophisticated weapons could fuel gang rivalries, targeted attacks and election-related violence.

A senior intelligence officer said the unchecked flow of illegal weapons poses a long-term threat to Punjab's internal security.

"See this is a big law and order situation in the state in the long run. Easy availability of arms will lead to more such random firing incidents. Any minor dispute between two people and you will see each one of them pulling out weapons. That's the big plan of Pak-based ISI to create social law and order problem in the state and throw it into a chaos," said a senior intelligence officer.

Security agencies believe disrupting these cross-border supply chains has become critical to preventing organised crime from gaining a stronger foothold in Punjab ahead of the electoral season.