Chohla Sahib, a small town in Punjab’s Tarn Taran district, has turned to ex-servicemen for round-the-clock protection of its main market after repeated ransom and threat calls unsettled local traders. The development has brought a military-veteran presence into a civilian security response in an area where even small businesses have reportedly become targets.
The market is built around an L-shaped road of less than a kilometre, but ex-servicemen are being seen guarding the street 24 hours a day. Shopkeepers and traders are paying them directly from their own pockets. The Indian Express reported that traders have been reluctant to discuss the arrangement on the record, including the reasons for deploying former service personnel.
Small traders caught in an expanding extortion problem
The reported targets have extended beyond large commercial establishments. Electricians, mobile-phone shop owners and retail traders in small towns have also faced threats, according to the report. Residents said the pattern has challenged the usual assumption that extortion groups focus only on major businesses with substantial financial capacity.
The security concerns have also followed incidents of serious violence in the surrounding area. Two people were recently killed in a village near Chohla Sahib, and police subsequently linked the incident to rivalry between gangs. The reported violence has reinforced residents’ concerns about the reach of criminal networks in and around the town.
“Not only Chohla Sahib, Afridi was behind the extortion calls made across the Tarn Taran. We have been investigating him to break the bone of his network,” Tarn Taran SSP Surinder Lamba said, according to The Indian Express.
Police custody of Gurwinder Singh, alias Afridi, followed his deportation from a foreign country to Punjab, the report said. The police allegation that he was involved in extortion calls remains an allegation under investigation. Residents hope his arrest will provide relief, but some told The Indian Express that the problem extends beyond one individual.
Residents point to a wider gang structure
Chohla Sahib has previously been associated with criminal activity attributed by local residents to Lakhbir Singh Landa, followed by Afridi and a gang headed by Prabh Dasuwal. Locals told the newspaper that the Dasuwal gang operates as a broader network in the town. Those accounts, along with the decision to hire veterans, indicate the extent to which traders are seeking additional protection while the police investigation continues.
- Location: Chohla Sahib, Tarn Taran district, Punjab
- Security response: Ex-servicemen are guarding the market continuously
- Funding: Local shopkeepers and traders are paying them privately
- Police case: Gurwinder Singh, alias Afridi, is in police custody in connection with the investigation described by the Tarn Taran police
The arrangement does not replace the formal law-enforcement process. It reflects a local response by traders facing reported threats, while police investigate alleged links among extortion calls, gang rivalry and the wider network operating in Tarn Taran.
