Whether it is an argument over the sale of drugs, self-styled guardianship of morality or the police’s own way of recovering weapons, the gun increasingly seems to have become the answer to every problem in Punjab.On Tuesday, anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota was shot dead at a chemist shop in Mansa, allegedly by the owner, after an argument over the alleged sale of drugs. Instead of involving the police, both the parties took the law into their own hands.Self-styled guardians of morality also prefer guns than involving the police. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and DGP Gaurav Yadav would chair a meeting on October 16 to discuss the law-and-order and drug-related challenges, months ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.In June 2025, influencer Kanchan Kumari, known as Kamal Kaur Bhabhi, was found dead in a car in Bathinda. Police said Nihang-attired men strangled her at the instance of self-styled vigilante Amritpal Singh Mehron, who had warned her and other content creators to delete “vulgar” content. Mehron fled abroad and was arrested in April after being deported from the UAE.In July this year, influencer Manjeet Kaur, 28, was allegedly abducted from Chandigarh and set on fire near Morinda. She died on August 26. That same month, a group identifying itself as Tarna Dal 96 Crori staged a “raid” at Ludhiana’s Rakh Bagh, confronting women over their clothes and couples for sitting together. Days earlier, another group led by Manpreet Singh Khalsa entered the Ludhiana home of influencer Ranjit Kaur, known as ‘Bhabhi Chummewali’, and made her apologise for her reels.On October 3, makeup artist, LGBTQ activist and influencer Mad Sandhu was shot dead by two motorcycle-borne men on Loharka Road in Amritsar. He had earlier faced objections from Nihang groups, and gangster Prabh Dasuwal had threatened him in February. Social media posts in the names of gangsters Goldy Dhillon and Lucky Johal claimed responsibility. Police said the alleged shooter, Parminder Kaka of Lohian Khas in Jalandhar, was arrested in Ahmedabad and had acted at Dhillon’s behest. Gujarat ATS has arrested three alleged Dhillon operatives in Vapi who are suspected of having tracked Sandhu’s movements.Policemen are also in the line of fire. ASI Joga Singh in Majitha in May, two in Dorangla in Gurdaspur, and ASI Harjit Singh, shot dead near Bhagtanwala grain market in Amritsar on September 17-18 while on PCR duty. ASI Jaswant Singh was shot at in Rajasansi in September, and Railway Police ASI Sukhchain Singh was wounded near Jagdev Khurd on October 4-5. ASI Iqbal Singh of the Counter Intelligence wing was shot dead in Tarn Taran on October 11. Police link several attacks to Pakistan’s ISI and say a purely online outfit, Tehreek-e-Taliban Hindustan, has been floated to claim them.The police’s own answer has often been a gun as well. Karanbir Singh alias Nandi, accused of shooting ASI Jaswant Singh, escaped custody on September 19 while being taken to the Majitha area to recover weapons. On September 26, police said he fired when signalled to stop and was killed in retaliatory fire. A policeman was injured, and a bulletproof jacket saved another. This week, Sahib Singh alias Guri, accused of shooting ASI Sukhchain Singh, was shot in the leg. Police said he tried to snatch an SI’s service pistol while being taken to recreate the crime scene.Earlier cases follow a similar script of a criminal getting wounded during recovery of weapons by him. In Sangrur, gangster Maninder Singh was taken to recover an imported pistol hidden near a canal and allegedly fired the moment he held it. One bullet brushed a policeman’s turban, and he was shot in the leg. In Kapurthala, gangster Ramandeep Singh was shot in the leg during a weapon recovery.The influx of weapons from Pakistan seems to be the reason behind easy availability though licenced weapons have also been used. Nearly 4000 weapons have been seized.According to police data,the Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) and field units have together arrested 3,171 people, neutralised 36, busted 1,234 gang modules, and recovered 2,428 weapons and 719 vehicles since April 6, 2022.Under “Gangstran Te Vaar”, running since January 20 this year, police have conducted 1,29,969 raids, arrested 1,777 proclaimed offenders and accounted for 1,24,864 individuals in all. The operation has yielded 1,170 weapons and 15 hand grenades.BSF data shows drone recoveries in Punjab rose from 21 in 2022 to 107 in 2023 and 294 in 2024. By November 30, 2025, the force had seized 272 drones and 200 advanced weapons, including AK-47 rifles. BSF IG Atul Fulzale reported a sharp surge in sophisticated weapons smuggling after Operation Sindoor.This year, police have repeatedly seized pistols of Turkish, Austrian, Chinese and Pakistani make, including 10 in Amritsar in June and another 10 in August. On October 10, police recovered a modified M16 rifle, the first such weapon allegedly smuggled from Pakistan, along with nine pistols. IG Border Range Gurpreet Singh Bhullar called the trend “worrisome and dangerous”. On Tuesday, three men from Moga were held near Attari with a hand grenade and a Glock pistol, allegedly planning to target a police officer or a government establishment.On the counter-terrorism side, police said 92 terror modules were destroyed and 686 terrorists or radicals arrested between March 16, 2022, and September 11 this year. They were linked to outfits including Babbar Khalsa International, Khalistan Zindabad Force, Khalistan Liberation Force and Khalistan Tiger Force, and to handlers based in Pakistan, Canada, the UK, the US and Germany. Of 43 terror-related incidents recorded since September 2024, 41 have been solved, while nine other claimed attacks were found to be hoaxes.Recoveries since March 2022 include 54 rifles, 599 revolvers and pistols, 38 IEDs, over 28 kg of RDX and explosives, 131 hand grenades, six rocket-propelled grenades and 952 drones.