A night along the Pakistan border in Punjab, in the shadow of two murders at an outpost

The Indian Express spent the February 24-25 night travelling along these border outposts from Adhian in Gurdaspur to Khalra in Tarn Taran. Forty-eight hours after the murders of Assistant Sub-Inspector Gurnam Singh and India Reserve Battalion Constable Ashok Kumar at the Adhian outpost, many of the outposts remain unsecured or undermanned.

Addressing the media Wednesday, after the “encounter” in which it claimed to have solved the Adhian killings, DIG Sandeep Goyal denied there had been any negligence on the police’s part, and alleged that the ISI had lured three local youths to carry out the attack, even while paying only “a small portion” of the promised Rs 2-4 lakh.

The encounter, Goyal said, was “poetic justice”.

The family of the 19-year-old killed in the encounter, however, has said he was picked up from his house by police and shot dead the next day.

Asked if there were adequate personnel at the police checkposts, the DIG said: “The Punjab Police is a professional force. It knows its job, where to deploy checkposts and how to deploy them.”

The Punjab Police did not respond to specific queries by The Indian Express regarding what it found along the border.

The Dorangla police station has no guard. (Express photo by Kamaldeep Singh Brar)

Gurdaspur

Adhian, where the murders happened, falls under the Dorangla Police Station, and has known incidents such as drug smuggling. The road to the village branches off from near Kalanaur, the small town where Mughal Emperor Akbar was enthroned.

It’s 10 pm, and fog has settled on the open countryside, despite the rising daytime temperatures. A BSF vehicle streaks ahead on the largely deserted road, with its beacon on.

Officials say that the two police personnel who were killed had spent a considerable part of their deployment at the Dostpur outpost, which falls before Adhian. Dostpur, which officials admit has a rampant network of inter-border illegal activities, has an administrative police checkpost, a permanent security structure, six personnel and some CCTV cameras. BSF personnel are known to drop in often, with personnel taking breaks by turn.

Right now, two have stepped out for dinner.

Around 11 pm, speaking over the loud music being played by a wedding DJ, an official at the Dostpur outpost admits the murders are worrying. “Even during militancy, no police official was killed like this. There were direct combats, but not such cold-blooded murders.”

Noting that the position of the bodies of the two police personnel indicated they had been taken by surprise, a police official says: “We are not meant to open fire, but first try and identify the person. We can only react if we are attacked. Hence the attacker always has the advantage.”

With the wedding winding up, the guests have spilled out; the policemen stop and question them before letting them proceed.

As one drives away from Dostpur, the Adhian police outpost appears suddenly, visible in the dark only because of the car headlights. It is deserted, with even the sole bulb inside it now out, and no door to secure it. A yellow tape cordoning off the area is the only sign of the killings of two nights earlier.

A year ago, Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav announced plans to install 2,300 CCTV cameras at 703 strategic locations across the border areas. The cameras haven’t reached the Adhian outpost.

Dorangla Police Station

Dera Baba Nanak is hosting the Sri Chola Sahib Jor Mela these days, and devotees are coming to the town from far and wide, with langars (community feasts) being run at intervals along the way, including from the border to the town.

At village Thaman, 3 km from the Adhian outpost, a langar has just wrapped up, and the volunteers are getting ready to serve the priests reciting the Gurbani.

At 11.15 pm, as the crowd mills, a worried volunteer who doesn’t want to be named says: “It is true that we don’t expect police security for community functions, but everyone feels insecure after the murders.”

At 11.45 pm, the Dorangla Police Station is barely stirring, with the entry gate unguarded and only two officials around. Moments later, DSP Maninder Pal Singh, who has apparently been tipped off from the station, strides in, furious about photos being taken of the premises, calling the act a “security breach”.

Just the previous night, Gurdaspur Congress MP and former home minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa shared that he had found security lax at the Dera Baba Nanak and Kotli Surat Mallhi Police Stations during a surprise check.

Amritsar, Tarn Taran

The 20-km distance to Amritsar on the Grand Trunk road has along it the BSF headquarters and an Army cantonment, but no police patrol in sight. The story is the same as one approaches the Gharinda Police Station – one of the busiest in the state when it comes to the seizure of drugs and drones sent from across the border – and as one crosses the last railway crossing between India and Pakistan and drives on to Jhabal.

On the way to Jhabal, the Rajatal village also has a long record of smuggling, and the government has set up an administrative police checkpost here. But at 3 am, there is no police official visible at the checkpost.

Forty kilometres and one hour later is the Khalra Police Station in Tarn Taran district, with few police personnel and no sentry at the gate.

It’s 4.15 am, and the Pakistan border is just 1 km away.