Ludhiana: A Punjab legislator has petitioned the director general of police for increased protection after reportedly receiving death threats from international extortionists linked to a series of recent shootings in the region.
Background of the Threat
Manwinder Singh Giaspura, the Aam Aadmi Party MLA for Payal, claims that intervening in an extortion attempt against a local businessman has made him a personal target of gangster Balwinder Singh "Doni Bal". The threat follows two daylight shootings targeting a commission agent's shop and a local eatery.
"I spoke to the caller for 15 minutes, urging him not to disturb the peace of Punjab," Giaspura said, noting the call originated from a United Kingdom-based number. "The caller, later, told my associates that he would kill me."
The lawmaker's concerns intensified after three unidentified men on an unregistered motorcycle allegedly intercepted a member of his media team near Rano Bridge on April 30, issuing a final warning to "settle the account".
Police Response
Khanna's senior superintendent of police, Darpan Ahluwalia, confirmed the cops had registered a case against Bal. She stated that the MLA as well as the targeted traders had received enhanced security after a "routine administrative review".
Giaspura, a prominent Sikh activist, believes his political and social work has made him a target. He claimed that during his conversation with the gangster, he had mocked at the group for hiring local gunmen for as little as ₹15,000 to carry out high-risk shootings, telling him the jail tickets were going cheap. And that the MLA believes ticked him off.
Links to Other Incidents
The MLA claimed that those who had threatened his media aide were related to Doni Bal and Shaganpreet, slain singer Shubdeep Singh Sidhu Moose Wala's former agent who is now accused of running a high-profile extortion racket in Punjab from abroad.
The MLA said seven to eight arrests after the attack on a commission agent in Payal had made little difference to the gang, which had sent more hitmen to a dhaba in Khanna, whose owner was from his office area in Payal.
Two masked assailants opened fire on Prem Dhaba early on Friday, an attack police believe was a violent intimidation tactic linked to a ₹50 lakh extortion demand. Two bullets struck the restaurant's shutter, and while no injuries were reported, the attack follows a string of similar threats targeting traders and commission agents in the Khanna and Doraha regions.
The owner of Prem Dhaba told police the extortion caller had identified himself as Shaganpreet Singh, who is also linked to the 2021 murder of youth Akali activist Vicky Middukhera, which had set off a chain of events ending in the killing of Sidhu Moose Wala. The Khanna shooters obscured their registration number plate to evade detection during the 30-second hit.
