The Punjab Police are grappling with two distinct security challenges ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections — a string of attacks on policemen allegedly backed by Pakistan-based handlers and a spate of killings of social media influencers in the name of moral policing.Social media has been abuzz with posts highlighting how easily shooters appear to arrive on motorcycles, carry out attacks and ride away. Three influencers and six policemen have been targeted in recent months.A similar pattern has emerged in several of these attacks, prompting Opposition parties, including the Congress, BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal, to question the police response and the state’s grip on law and order.Police officials, however, said investigations indicated that the attacks on influencers and policemen were unrelated, involving different perpetrators and motives.“The attacks on policemen are an attack on national security. A pseudo organisation, Tehreek-e-Taliban Hindustan (TTH), has been floated to claim responsibility, but the planning and execution are linked to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and terror groups,” said a senior police official.Madhusudan Sandhu, popularly known as Mad Sandhu, an influencer and LGBTQ activist, was shot dead on October 3 by two motorcycle-borne assailants at a car-washing point on the Loharka Road in Amritsar.Four policemen have been killed in Punjab this year, while two others have survived gun attacks. Assistant Sub-Inspector Harjit Singh was shot dead near Bhagtanwala grain market in Amritsar on the night of September 17-18 while on PCR duty. Two policemen were killed in Dorangla in Gurdaspur, while ASI Joga Singh was shot dead in Majitha in May. ASI Jaswant Singh was shot at in Rajasansi on September 12, while ASI Sukhchain Singh of the Government Railway Police sustained a gunshot injury to his left arm near Jagdev Khurd in Ajnala on the night of October 4-5.Police officials said influencers were being targeted by local groups or gangsters acting in the name of moral policing. Mad Sandhu had received threats from multiple quarters, including gangsters, and had been informed about them. Another influencer Komal Bhabi was also targeted by a local group, officials said.The attacks on policemen, on the other hand, were allegedly being orchestrated from across the border based on specific inputs. One official described them as part of a new ISI strategy aimed at denting police morale.According to officials, the ISI is operating through a front organisation called Tehreek-e-Taliban Hindustan (TTH), which exists only online and has no physical presence. The name, they said, was intended to create the impression of an Indian group. “It is a paper organisation, floated so Pakistan and Pakistan-based terror groups can deny involvement,” an official said.A social media post purportedly issued by foreign-based gangster Goldy Dhillon and an associate claimed responsibility for Sandhu’s killing, alleging that he was “corrupting the younger generation”. Spain-based gangster Lucky Johal also claimed responsibility. The police are verifying both claims and examining extortion, personal enmity and hate crime as possible motives.Sandhu had faced objections from certain Nihang groups over his content and attire several months ago. Gangster Prabh Dasuwal had also threatened him in February.In June 2025, influencer Kanchan Kumari, popularly known as Kamal Kaur Bhabhi, was found dead in a car near Bathinda. Self-styled Nihang leader Amritpal Singh Mehron was named the key conspirator. He was deported from the UAE and arrested in April 2026.In July, influencer Manjeet Kaur, 28, was allegedly abducted from Chandigarh and set on fire near Morinda. She succumbed to her injuries on August 26.ASI Sukhchain Singh of the Government Railway Police was shot at in Amritsar late on Jattvibeday. Police officials said a personal enmity angle was also being probed, even as Tehreek-e-Taliban Hindustan had claimed responsibility for the attack.(With inputs by Pawan K Jaiswar and Archit Watts)