A day after three militants, armed with sophisticated weapons, attacked Dinanagar town, the call for taking imperative steps including equipping Punjab Police with advanced weaponry, preparing them for dealing with emergencies, strengthening intelligence and police departments, among others came from different quarters.
No doubt, the Punjab Police and its specialised SWAT team braved the terrorist attack, before holing all three inside a building near Dinanagar police station, loopholes, like lack of infrastructure, ill-preparedness, and ignoring intel inputs, emerged during the operation.
Punjab Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa, lauding the police action, also stressed the need to equip the force with modern weaponry and other equipment to deal with such situations. At the same time, the Apex industry body, Associated Chambers of Commerce of India (ASSOCHAM), apprehended that Gurdaspur terror attack might further hit investment inflow in Punjab and urged the state government to take stringent steps. Strongly condemning the “cowardly act of terrorism” in Gurdaspur district on Monday, the ASSOCHAM urged the State Government to immediately initiate stringent steps like “strengthening the intelligence and police departments to prevent recurrence of such unfortunate incidents and stop infiltration of terrorists from across the border”.
“The current security environment might make it difficult for the State to attract large scale private investments, especially in the industrial sector, as such there is an alternative to focus on agriculture and services sectors that have significant potential to generate jobs quickly,” said ASSOCHAM secretary general DS Rawat.
He said: “The terrorist attack in Punjab might further hit the investment flow into the State as such commitments from the government to maintain law and order conditions hold key.”
Bajwa said that the police force was “short on safety equipment like bullet proof jackets and helmets”, but still they put up exemplary bravery. However, when proper equipment was available, the risk to fighting force could be minimised, he added.