Congress MP Manish Tiwari on Friday, 18 September raised sharp concern over the killing of Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Harjit Singh in Amritsar, stating the incident was evidence that the law and order situation in Punjab was 'not normal' and urging stronger action from both the Centre and the state government.

How the Attack Unfolded

According to police, ASI Harjit Singh was shot dead by two unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants while on duty at the Grain Market in Bhagtanwala, Amritsar. The attack occurred at approximately 3 a.m., when the men approached the officer and fired multiple bullets at him from point-blank range. Singh was rushed to a nearby private hospital, where he was declared brought dead. He was a resident of Tarn Taran district. Police have launched an investigation into the circumstances of the shooting and the identity of the perpetrators.

What Manish Tiwari Said

Reacting to the killing, Tiwari described it as 'extremely sad and unfortunate' that a policeman was shot multiple times and lost his life on duty. 'It clearly shows that the law and order situation is not normal. Punjab is a border state, and there is interference from external forces, particularly our neighbouring country Pakistan. Drugs and weapons also come through drones,' he said. Tiwari stressed that maintaining a robust law and order environment in Punjab was the joint responsibility of both the Central and state governments, given the state's border location and the persistent challenges posed by drug and weapons trafficking.

The Narco-Terrorism Warning

Tiwari also addressed Punjab's ongoing drug crisis, invoking the term 'narco-terrorism' to describe what he characterised as a coordinated campaign to destabilise the state following the end of the era of militancy in 1995. 'When the era of terrorism ended in Punjab in 1995, Pakistan started an era of narco-terrorism. It took about one-and-a-half decades for people to fully understand what was happening,' he said. He noted that by 2009-2010, the pattern had become clearer and successive governments had attempted to counter it. Tiwari cautioned that anyone denying Punjab's drug problem today was 'misleading the people of Punjab', and extended the concern to the wider northern region — including Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Haryana.

Tiwari on ECI's TMC Symbol Order

In a separate statement, Tiwari responded to the Election Commission of India's (ECI) interim order freezing the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) party name and election symbol. He alleged the move was 'actuated by mala fide' and undermined the essence of parliamentary democracy, noting that the symbol had been in existence since the party's founding in the 1990s. 'The order will have to be studied in detail, and once we study the order in detail, we will come back with a more structured response,' he said.

What Happens Next

The killing of a serving police officer in Amritsar adds pressure on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab government to demonstrate credibility on internal security. This comes amid sustained concerns about cross-border smuggling of drugs and weapons — a pattern that security analysts say has intensified with the use of drones along the India-Pakistan border. Investigative leads in the Harjit Singh case are expected to determine whether the attack was gang-related or had deeper links to organised crime networks.