Late night on 7 Apr, two men hurled a grenade at the Jalandhar home of former Panjab cabinet minister and Bharatiya Janata Party national executive member Manoranjan Kalia. Kalia and family are unhurt. Police have caught two suspects and claim one of them is from Pakistan. On 4 Apr, a 22-year-old student Aditya Thakur was stabbed and killed at Panjab University, Chandigarh during a musical event on campus. Meanwhile, encounters with alleged criminals have surged in Panjab. 41 police encounters have been recorded between 1 Jan and 31 Mar, compared to 64 in all of 2024. In Bathinda, on 3 Apr, Instagram star, police constable Amandeep Kaur was dismissed after her arrest for possession of 17.71 grams of heroin. A recording of her sex-for-cash phone call has surfaced on social media. Indian National Congress Minister of Legislative Assembly Sukhpal Singh Khaira alleged the other person on the call is Indian Police Service officer Swapan Sharma who has been recently appointed Ludhiana police chief in view of the upcoming West Ludhiana by-poll. Meanwhile, the loot of farmers' possessions and trolleys after their 19 Mar eviction from Panjab-Haryana interstate borders Shambhu and Khanauri now points towards authorities. Farmers accuse Aam Aadmi Party Member of the Legislative Assembly Gurlal Singh Ghanaur of orchestrating the theft, though he has denied involvement. Police have registered a complaint against their own constable Virinder Singh and his uncle for stealing a trolley from Khanauri. A students union, the Secular Youth Federation of India alleged their patron Pushpinder Singh Tau was being targeted by law enforcement for his support to the farmers’ protest. Separately, police in Patiala preempted a meeting of farmer unions Samyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha at Gurdwara Nathana Sahib. The meeting was to thank people of the Puadh region (south east Panjab) for their cooperation during the 13-month Farmers Protest 2.0 (earlier coverage).
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