Chandigarh: The Director General of Police in Punjab Gaurav Yadav on Monday said that the “bullet for bullet” policy is not aggressive, but rather a self-defence mechanism after the accused in the Amritsar Thakurdwara temple grenade attack was killed in a police encounter.
Speaking with the media Gaurav Yadav emphasised that the police aim to work within the law, conduct professional investigations, and punish the accused through the courts. However, when faced with firing, the police will retaliate in self-defence.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said, “Our effort is to work within the parameters of law and carry out a professional investigation and get the accused punished through the courts. When we face any firing, then we retaliate in self-defence. Bullet for bullet is not an aggressive policy. It is a policy of self-defence. If police is attacked, police will respond.”
He also highlighted the issue of heroin and pharmaceutical drugs coming from across the border, which is a significant problem.
“Pharmaceutical drugs and synthetic drugs are also a big problem. We have busted few rackets of pharmaceutical drugs. There is a need to bring back the drug-addicted victims in mainstream,” he added.
The encounter occurred when the Punjab Police received intelligence about the movement of the accused in the Rajasansi area. The police team tracked the suspects, who opened fire, injuring two officers. The police responded in self-defence, injuring the main accused, who later succumbed to his injuries. The second accused is still absconding.
Earlier on Monday morning, the Punjab Police received a specific intelligence about the movement of two accused of the grenade attack in Amritsar in Rajasansi area of the district. Acting on the information, the police team went to nab the accused. When the Station Head Officer (SHO) of Chheharta tried to stop the accused who were on motorcycle, they left the vehicle and opened fire at the police party.
During the encounter, head constable Gurpreet Singh was injured while another bullet struck the turban of Inspector Amolak Singh. In an act of self-defence, Inspector Vinod Kumar launched firing and injured the main accused. However, the other accused managed to escape from the spot.