This is Part 2 of a two-part series on attacks on Punjab Police Assistant Sub-Inspectors in the state’s border districts. Read Part 1 here.
New Delhi: One was a gangster. The other, a Punjab Police Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI). They belonged to the same family and were gunned down in the same village, exactly a month apart. Their murders have exposed a bitter gang rivalry in Punjab’s Majha region in which old friendships turned into deadly enmities, and family ties became a means of settling scores.
ASI Iqbal Singh was shot dead by bike-borne assailants near his home on 11 October, a month after his nephew Ajmeet Singh was killed in almost identical circumstances.
On his way back from his office in Ferozepur, Iqbal visited a gurdwara along a highway connecting Tarn Taran to Ferozepur, to offer prayers. As darkness fell over the rural belt of Tarn Taran, Iqbal’s wife, Darshan Kaur, was waiting for him at home when a loud sound punctured the quiet. Alarmed, she called her husband’s mobile phone to find out what had happened. He did not answer.
Iqbal had been shot just a few metres from their home while returning from the gurdwara.
“I called his mobile to check what the sound was about, but he was no longer able to pick up my call,” Darshan said, speaking to ThePrint while making arrangements for her husband’s bhog ceremony.
Iqbal is one of five Punjab Police personnel to be shot dead in the state’s border districts this year. Unlike the other killings, which have been traced to operatives linked to Pakistan-based handlers, police say his murder stemmed from a gang feud involving his own family.
Iqbal’s killing exposes another troubling dimension of Punjab’s increasingly murky crime landscape. While some police personnel are becoming victims of gang rivalries because of their family connections, others have themselves been accused of working with gangsters and participating in extortion rackets. The lines between those fighting organised crime and those allegedly involved in it are becoming increasingly blurred, making an already dangerous situation even more complex.
Tarn Taran Senior Superintendent of Police Surendra Lamba said that a total of eight accused have been arrested for the murder of Iqbal Singh. They include a jailed gangster who was allegedly once a close associate of Iqbal’s slain nephew Ajmeet and was part of the same gangster network as the ASI’s Germany-based son.
Ajmeet was gunned down on 11 September near a bus stand in Naushera Pannuan. The modus operandi was strikingly similar—two men on a motorcycle opened fire at him, killing him on the spot.
“Two tragedies have struck our family in a span of a month, and we are distraught to the extent of hopelessness. No political figure came to us with assurances, and neither have we been informed about any update on the investigation,” Iqbal’s sister Jashkaranjit Kaur told ThePrint. The family, however, does not believe the two murders were connected.
Our brave police officer, ASI Iqbal Singh who has laid down his life in the line of duty.@PunjabPoliceInd stands firmly with the bereaved family in their hour of grief. Hon’ble Chief Minister has announced an ex-gratia amount of ₹1 crore for his family, while an additional ₹1… pic.twitter.com/6qudz0sWqZ
— DGP Punjab Police (@DGPPunjabPolice) October 13, 2026
A senior Punjab Police officer familiar with the investigation offered a different assessment. “Iqbal Singh was killed not for being a policeman or for his official work. He was killed for being the father of his son, a highly active operative of the gang run by fugitive Lakhbir Singh Landa,” the officer told ThePrint.
The officer added, “This is now the tragedy of Punjab. While policemen are being attacked for fighting crime, some are themselves involved in the gangster nexus. Then there are those who get dragged into gang rivalries because of their family members’ links with gangsters, despite having a clean record, as happened in Iqbal’s case. These gangster networks have become so deeply entrenched that even policemen are exposed and vulnerable.”
Apart from his wife, Iqbal is survived by two sons, Kanwalpreet Singh and Komalpreet Singh, both of whom live in Germany. According to the family, Kanwalpreet has been abroad for nearly a decade, while Komalpreet moved there around five years ago.
Investigators have linked Komalpreet to the chain of events surrounding the killings of Iqbal and Ajmeet, as well as two other murders in the same village.
“Iqbal’s killing unfortunately took place as part of a series of killings due to rivalry between gangs operating in the Majha region of the state,” another police officer said.
The rivalry is primarily between the gang run by Canada-based Lakhbir Singh alias Landa and a rival group led by foreign-based gangsters including Brazil-based Prabhdeep Singh alias Prabh Dasuwal and UK-based Balwinder Singh alias Doni Bal and Gurvinder Singh alias Gurvinder Afridi.
A native of Harike village in Tarn Taran, about 20 kilometres from Naushera Pannuan, Landa has been designated an individual terrorist by the Ministry of Home Affairs for his alleged role in several terror attacks, including the 2022 RPG attack on the Punjab Police Intelligence headquarters in Mohali. Punjab Police and the National Investigation Agency have identified him as an associate of Pakistan-based terrorist Harwinder Singh alias Rinda.
Also Read: 2 families at odd, a murder & Rs 50 lakh ‘extortion’: Role of FBI-indicted Punjab cop gets murkier
From friends to foes: The roots of a village feud
In Naushera Pannuan, Ajmeet and Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi Numberdar were once known as the best of friends. Both were allegedly associated with the network of Canada-based gangster Lakhbir Singh alias Landa and had worked together as ground-level operatives. But their friendship eventually turned into a bitter gang rivalry, with Gopi emerging as a suspect in Ajmeet’s murder.
Ajmeet, who lost his parents in childhood, grew up with Iqbal’s family and had long been associated with Landa’s network. His links to the gang date back at least five years. In 2022, Amritsar and Tarn Taran Police arrested him in connection with an Arms Act case and the murder of a cloth merchant—both allegedly carried out on Landa’s directions, according to investigators.
His name also surfaced during the investigation into the 2022 RPG attack on Sarhali police station. Addressing a press conference after the busting of the module behind the attack, Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav said Landa and other foreign-based operatives, including Satbir Singh alias Satta Naushera, had planned the attack with Ajmeet’s assistance.
Satta, too, hails from Naushera Pannuan. Investigators found that Ajmeet had served as the key link between Landa and six accused from the village who were allegedly recruited to execute the attack. Gopi Numberdar was one of them.
But by September this year, the two friends had become enemies. Barely a month after Ajmeet was released on bail, he was shot dead. Five days later, Tarn Taran Police approached a local court seeking Gopi Numberdar’s production from Ferozepur jail, alleging that he had ordered two hitmen to kill Ajmeet.
“The two who worked together to carry out the RPG attack on Sarhali police station have since turned bitter rivals, with Gopi Numberdar joining hands with the gang run by Prabh Dassuwal and Doni Bal,” a Punjab Police officer told ThePrint.
Police investigation traces the breakdown of their friendship to a series of revenge killings in Naushera Pannuan. The rivalry became increasingly public after Ajmeet’s murder, exposing the extent of gang rivalries in the Majha region.
Social media posts attributed to Doni Bal’s gang claimed responsibility for the killing and alleged that their associates were being targeted through police surveillance in Naushera Pannuan and surrounding areas.
A cycle of revenge killings
The chain of killings began in November 2024 with the murder of kabaddi player Sukhwinder Singh alias Noni, who was shot dead by a shop owner in Naushera Pannuan after allegedly arriving to collect an extortion payment demanded by Gopi Numberdar, then lodged in Kapurthala jail.
Noni was Satta’s cousin. Satta, one of the alleged masterminds of the Sarhali RPG attack and a close aide of Landa, held Gopi Numberdar responsible for his cousin’s death.
In December 2025, Satta allegedly retaliated by orchestrating the murder of Gopi Numberdar’s cousin. Ajmeet’s cousin Komalpreet subsequently claimed responsibility for the killing, according to police. This remains the only case registered against Komalpreet in Tarn Taran.
“These turns of events led to a rivalry between Satta and Gopi Numberdar. Komalpreet took Satta’s side, and the arc of revenge eventually reached his cousin Ajmeet and his father Iqbal,” another officer said.
The rivalry also claimed the life of Ashwani Devgan, sarpanch of Toot village in Tarn Taran. He was shot dead by bike-borne assailants, allegedly on the instructions of Komalpreet and Landa. Police believe he was targeted because he was locally perceived to be working with Doni Bal and his associates, including Gurvinder Afridi from Toot village.
A 17-second CCTV clip captured the attack. Three assailants followed Ashwani’s SUV, approached it from the left and opened fire. They fled within seconds, killing him in broad daylight.
Punjab Police have arrested four accused in the case, all from Gurdaspur district, and detained a juvenile from the same district, Tarn Taran SSP Lamba said.
The cycle of retaliation escalated after Ashwani’s murder, with Doni Bal allegedly ordering a hit on Iqbal.
“Our preliminary investigation and interrogation of the accused, including the one who conducted the recce, shows that Iqbal Singh was targeted as the Doni Bal gang was looking to inflict the harshest loss on Komalpreet,” a police officer told ThePrint.
Tarn Taran Police subsequently apprehended a juvenile from Naushera Pannuan for allegedly conducting reconnaissance for the purpose of Iqbal’s killing. Days later, Komalpreet allegedly ordered the killing of the juvenile’s father, Kuldeep Singh, in what police described as a tit-for-tat attack.
Senior Punjab Police officers with years of experience dealing with gangsters say the region’s close-knit social relationships have helped fuel the cycle of retaliation.
“What used to be the strength of the community in this part of the world has started to become the reason for the series of revenge killings,” a senior officer said.
“Brotherhood and personal bonds between gangsters are very personal in Punjab, and hence any killing leads to a series of revenge killings,” the officer said. “The scenario in this part of the world is different from other parts of the country, where associates are used as disposable entities, and operatives are used in a use-and-throw manner.”
(Edited by Chingkheinganbi Mayengbam)
Also Read: Punjab cops’ 1st extradition from Europe—Bhagwanpuria gang member wanted for Akali leader’s murder