The political atmosphere in Punjab charged up on Wednesday (July 8, 2026) after the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) named Punjab Police inspector Gurinderjit Singh Nagra in an alleged international extortion plot, and the Opposition parties cornered the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), terming the episode a reflection of complete breakdown of law and order.
Congress leader Vijay Inder Singla said the revelations from the FBI’s “Operation Hard Ball” exposed a state-gangster nexus thriving right under the nose of the AAP government. “The FBI has charged Gurinderjit Singh Nagra, Station House Officer of the Tanda police station, in a $400,000 extortion case for allegedly working hand-in-glove with the Lawrence Bishnoi and Jaggu Bhagwanpuria syndicates to terrorise innocent families,” he said. Mr. Singla added that while global law enforcement was aggressively hunting down these criminals, the law and order apparatus had completely collapsed in Punjab.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California announced a coordinated international crackdown, code-named “Operation Hard Ball”, against India-based transnational organised crime groups, resulting in arrests in the United States, Canada and Europe.
Former Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia said that “..If the FBI takes this inspector to the United States, the alleged AAP, gangster, and Punjab Police nexus will be exposed before the world, something many have been demanding.”
Bharatiya Janata Party Punjab unit president Kewal Singh Dhillon said the people of Punjab were demanding answers from a government that promised “change” but failed to deliver. “Countless families have been devastated by drugs, gun violence and murders, yet the government continues to remain indifferent,” he alleged in a statement.
Mr. Dhillon said Punjab could only be rescued from the present crisis through stringent laws and a zero-tolerance policy against criminals, without which lasting peace could not be restored.
Published - July 08, 2026 10:20 pm IST