ASI Shot Dead in Tarn Taran: Fifth Policeman Killed in Punjab in 2026 as Gangsters' Online Claim Comes Under Scrutiny
Punjab policemen killed: ASI Iqbal Singh was shot dead in Tarn Taran, the latest in a series. Full timeline, police claims and open questions.
North Desk Correspondent
Tarn Taran, October 12
Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Iqbal Singh, a 55-year-old Punjab Police officer posted with the CIA wing in Ferozepur, was shot dead by motorcycle-borne assailants in Tarn Taran district on Sunday evening. Four policemen had already been killed in separate incidents in Punjab this year, and two others had survived gun attacks. With Sunday’s killing, five policemen have now died in 2026.
Punjab Policemen Killed: What police have said so far
Punjab Policemen Killed: Iqbal Singh, a resident of Naushera Pannuan village under the Sarhali police station area, was returning home after duty when armed men intercepted him on the Lauhka Road and opened fire, according to preliminary reports. Police said he sustained two bullet injuries and died at the scene.
A police official said the ASI was going back home when two unidentified bike-borne assailants fired multiple shots at him from point-blank range. Tarn Taran SSP Surinder Lamba said police were checking CCTV footage and had dispatched multiple teams to trace the route the assailants took. He said investigators had obtained some leads. No arrests had been independently confirmed at the time of reporting. Police have not yet stated the attackers’ identity or a motive.
The online claim
Punjab Policemen Killed: Hours after the killing, a purported social media post attributed to foreign-based gangsters Prabh Dasuwal, Doni Bal, Mohabbat Randhawa, Afreedi Toot and Shaganpreet claimed responsibility. The post alleged the ASI had been aiding gangster-turned-terrorist Lakhbir Singh alias Landa Harike.
The same post said the group was being falsely linked to the recent murder of Ashwani Sarpanch and had no role in it. Police could not independently verify the authenticity of the post. The allegation about the slain officer is made only in that post. Police have not commented on it, and no official has confirmed or rejected it.
The nephew’s killing a month earlier
Punjab Policemen Killed: Iqbal Singh’s killing came a month after his nephew, Ajmeet Singh, was shot dead on September 11. Ajmeet was also attacked by motorcycle-borne assailants. Reports said he had more than half a dozen cases registered against him. Police are investigating whether the two killings are connected, and no confirmed motive for the ASI’s murder had emerged.
The ASI’s killing is not the first in the border belt this year.
The 2026 record, as reported:
February 22, Adhian village (Dorangla), Gurdaspur: ASI Gurnam Singh and Home Guard Ashok Kumar were found dead with bullet injuries inside a check post near the International Border. Two Pakistan-linked outfits claimed responsibility, which police dismissed as unverified. Preliminary findings suggested the two were shot while asleep.
On February 25, Punjab Police said they had solved the case, arresting one accused and killing another in an encounter, with a third absconding. Police said the accused were tasked by Pakistan’s ISI to kill police personnel for money, and that two of them were insiders from the same village.
May 24, near Majitha (Amritsar Rural): ASI Joga Singh was shot dead by unidentified attackers while on his way to duty. The SSP said police were exploring all angles, including personal enmity and road rage. No arrest was confirmed in the reports reviewed.
September 12, Rajasansi (Ajnala): ASI Jaswant Singh was shot at and survived.
September 17-18, Amritsar: ASI Harjit Singh was shot dead by scooter-borne assailants while on PCR duty near the Bhagtanwala grain market. More than 24 hours later, police had made no significant breakthrough, with CCTV footage being scanned. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced Rs 1 crore ex-gratia assistance for his family, with another Rs 1 crore under an insurance cover. I could not find an arrest in this case in the reports reviewed.
October 4-5, near Jagdev Khurd (Ajnala): ASI Sukhchain Singh of the Government Railway Police sustained a gunshot injury to his left arm. Police said a personal enmity angle was also being probed, even as Tehreek-e-Taliban Hindustan (TTH) had claimed responsibility.
October 12 (Sunday), Naushera Pannuan (Tarn Taran): ASI Iqbal Singh, as above.
Competing explanations on record
Police have offered different explanations for different attacks. A senior police official said TTH was floated as a front to claim responsibility, and that the planning and execution were linked to Pakistan’s ISI and terror groups.
Officials described the attacks on policemen as part of a new strategy aimed at denting police morale. After the Dorangla killings, senior officials had said TTH had no known presence in Punjab or elsewhere in India. In the Tarn Taran case, the claim in circulation comes from a different set of names, and no official has linked it to either theory.
Police said investigations indicated that the attacks on policemen and a spate of influencer killings were unrelated, involving different perpetrators and motives.
A related killing in the district
On Tuesday, Toot village sarpanch Ashwani Devgan, said to be associated with the ruling AAP, was shot dead by unidentified bike-borne assailants in Tarn Taran district. The SSP said no prior threat, extortion call or personal enmity had come to the fore. This is the killing the gangsters’ post says they are being wrongly linked to.
Political reactions came in after the incident with opposition parties tearing into the ruling party, AAP. SAD chief Sukhbir Badal said: “Punjab is bleeding but the AAP government remains a mute spectator. Another ASI Iqbal Singh of Ferozepur Police was shot dead at Naushehra Pannuan, Tarn Taran, while returning after paying obeisance at Gurdwara Sahib. How long will they watch Punjab drown in bloodshed and lawlessness?”
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