“ Grenade suttange ta koi na. Assi vee baithe haan ethey (Let them throw a grenade, we are not scared. We are not going anywhere),” says Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Kulwinder Singh, 55, in-charge of the police chowki on the outskirts of Noushehra Pannuan village in Tarn Taran district.

It has been a few days after ASI Iqbal Singh was shot dead in the village, allegedly by the Dony Bal-Prabh Dasuwal gang. The murder is believed to have been the result of gang rivalry, with Iqbal’s son Komal a self-acknowledged member of the Landa-Satta gang that holds sway in the area. There have been other threats of grenade attacks on police posts in the border district.

The police chowki where ASI Kulwinder is posted has no boundary walls, an open approach from the road and only a handful of personnel. He admits “it is scary”, adding: “We set up nakas at night, hold patrols and keep an eye out for troublemakers.…