Jammu: Days after Kathua shootout in which one Sub-Inspector attained martyrdom and a gangster was killed, the Jammu and Kashmir Police have prepared a list of more than 100 gangsters and history-sheeters active in the past 15 years in different districts.
Sources in the police department said that the Jammu and Kashmir Police have prepared the first list comprising the names of 116 active gangsters, history sheeters and notorious criminals after the Kathua shootout.
“As the incidents of shootouts between police and gangsters were being reported from states like Punjab, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh, the Kathua shootout has put police on alert, and a noose is being tightened against the hardcore criminals,” they said.
Sources revealed that in Jammu district, as many as 48 active history-sheeters are identified, followed by 38 in Kathua and 30 in Samba districts.
“A 17-point agenda is in focus to initiate action against identified criminals, out of which some are also taken into custody,” sources said, adding that their close associates are also on radar.
Sources further said that the supply of weapons to these gangsters is being made from the neighbouring state of Punjab, where the illegal arms are being “smuggled through drones” from across Pakistan.
Notably, the pistol used in the Kathua shootout that claimed the life of the PSI was made in China and smuggled from Punjab by the gangsters.
“Gang wars in the past couple of years have allegedly witnessed a surge in Jammu, and the gangsters lodged in jails have also reportedly succeeded in executing the crimes outside with the help of their associates,” they added.
Around two decades ago, gang wars were the talk of the town, but after the killings of many in the police operations, several arrests, the trend ended in Jammu.
