Deputy Inspector General (Ferozepur Range) Hardial Singh Mann, in an official release, said the murder was the handiwork of some gangsters. Mann said they have arrested 11 persons for their alleged role in the crime. The accused are still being questioned to ascertain their motive behind killing Balwinder, he said.
Blackouts were enforced in Amritsar and Hoshiarpur's Dasuya and Mukerian areas as a precautionary measure. Electricity supply in Amritsar was restored at 11:42 pm on Monday.
In the first such incident reported in Punjab, drones were used to drop weapons and communication devices, among others, from across the border, an official said, adding that a half-burnt drone used in the operation was recovered from Tarn Taran.
The projectile, fired by some unidentified people, hit the Saanjh Kendra adjoining the Sarhali police station on the Amritsar-Bathinda highway on Friday night.
Earlier, the family had refused to cremate the body unless the accused were arrested, but then agreed to conduct the last rites after an assurance was given by the Tarn Taran district administration about prompt action in the case.
Harjit Kaur (52) was critically injured after the incident on Thursday at around 9:30 pm and was referred to a hospital in Amritsar, but she succumbed to the bullet injuries, a senior police official said over the phone.
The request is under "active consideration" of the Union home ministry, he said.
A suspected Pakistani intruder trying to infiltrate into India from the Punjab border was shot dead by the Border Security Force (BSF) amid an ongoing 'high alert' ahead of Independence Day.
So far, the maximum 83 deaths have taken place in Tarn Taran district, followed by 14 in Batala and 13 in Amritsar. The tragedy has been unfolding since Wednesday evening in the three districts.
Sandhu had fought against terrorism in the state for years, facing at least 16 terror attacks during height of Khalistani militancy in Punjab but had been able to repudiate them all while fighting militants along with his brother and their wives.
A 73-year-old woman, who was deported from the United States recently after spending more than three decades there, on Saturday said no one should go through the ordeal she went through, and expressed her desire to be reunited with her family in America.
Mann also asked the vigilance bureau to investigate the wealth amassed by the police officer through alleged "drug money".
Border Security Force personnel later found human footprints heading towards the Pakistani side, raising the possibility of an unintentional border crossing.
The Punjab Police has arrested five people in connection with the RPG attack at its Mohali office and pointed at the nexus of militant outfit Babbar Khalsa International and Pakistan's spy agency ISI.
Local residents said a migrant labourer was injured in the incident, while a few houses in the area also sustained damage. Parts of the unidentified object were lying in the area, they said.
Punjab and Rajasthan, which share borders with Pakistan, have gone into full alert mode following India's retaliatory missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Punjab Police has cancelled leaves of all its personnel and shut schools in six border districts, while Rajasthan has also cancelled leaves of administrative officials and police personnel deployed in the border areas and closed schools in four border districts.
As soon as he head about Dalbir Kaur's death, Randeep Hooda, who played Sarabjit Singh in a 2016 biopic, immediately left Mumbai for Bhikhiwind, her native town in Tarn Taran district, to perform the last rituals, as he had promised her.
Punjab Police have arrested three individuals and foiled a major target killing planned by a terror module linked to the proscribed Babbar Khalsa International (BKI). The module was allegedly being handled by US-based gangster Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi Nawashehria, who is a close aide of Pakistan-based terrorist Harwinder Singh Rinda.
'This is so sad the way she was humiliated.' Harjit Kaur's deportation has drawn condemnation from civil rights organisations and the Sikh American community.
Landa currently resides in Edmonton, the capital of Alberta in Canada, and is a member of Babbar Khalsa International.
'Go around and ask what Amritpal has done for the village and nearby areas.'
A National Investigation Agency team, which reached the spot on Saturday evening, was also carrying out its investigation by visiting the spot, they said.
The curbs to be remained in Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, Moga, Sangrur and Amritsar's Ajnala sub-division and a few areas in Mohali till Thursday noon.
The Punjab police on Friday claimed to have busted an ISI-backed terror module jointly handled by Canada-based gangster Lakhbir Singh alias Landa and Pakistan-based gangster Harvinder Singh Rinda with the arrest of two of its operatives.
The Punjab Police on Thursday arrested the second shooter involved in the killing of Shaurya Chakra awardee Balwinder Singh Sandhu last year.
Heavy rains exacerbate the flood situation in Punjab, leading to 37 deaths and widespread crop damage. Rescue and relief operations are underway as authorities issue alerts and provide assistance to affected populations.
Jasbir Singh, a resident of Village Mahlan in Rupnagar district, who operates a YouTube channel 'Jaan Mahal', was found to be associated with a Pakistani Intelligence Operative (PIO), Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said.
A devastating flashflood in the Kheer Ganga river on August 5 demolished nearly half of Dharali -- the key stopover en route to Gangotri with many hotels and homestays, and neighbouring Harsil, where an Army camp bore the brunt of the flood fury, barely giving time to the victims to run to safety.
In the first case, the arrested accused has been identified as Yograj Singh alias Yog, a resident of Rajoke village in Tarn Taran district.
Paramilitary forces were on Tuesday deployed in four districts of Punjab as a precautionary measure even as another incident of "sacrilege" of a holy book took place at a village in Bathinda.
The juvenile was also wanted in the murder of builder Sanjay Biyani on April 5 in Maharashtra's Nanded and the killing of gangster Rana Kandowalia outside a private hospital in Amritsar on August 4 last year,
Sarabjit Singh (49) had died following an attack on him by the inmates of a Lahore prison in April 2013.
The raids were conducted simultaneously from 6 am to 11am across several districts of the state on the directions of director general of police Punjab Gaurav Yadav.
Efforts are being made to nab the two criminals who shot at Sukhchain Singh, who recently returned from the US, and are on the run, they said.
The two brothers, identified as Rupinder Singh and Jaswinder Singh, of Panjgrain village of Faridkot, were arrested in connection with the first incident of sacrilege in the state in Bargari village in Faridkot
The distraught family of deceased Sarabjit Singh reached their native village Bikhiwind in Tarn Taran district of Punjab on Thursday evening.
Two police head constables were on Monday placed under suspension for allegedly thrashing a girl, who had resisted the arrest of her father by them in Tarn Taran district of Punjab.
The incident occurred on Monday night about 50 km from Amritsar near Amarpost at Chinna Bidhi Chand village, Senior Superintendent of Police Tarn Taran Kamaljit Singh said.
The body of Sarabjit Singh, who died after a brutal attack by inmates in a Pakistani jail, was on Thursday night handed over to his family after the post-mortem.
A Pakistani intruder was shot dead by Border Security Force personnel at Khemkaran sector in Tarn Taran district near Amritsar and heroin worth Rs 50 crore was recovered from his possession.
