Terrified by relentless ransom calls and fatal shootings targeting everyone from small vendors to doctors, shopkeepers in Tarn Taran’s remote Chohla Sahib town have funded their own 24x7 security.Chohla Sahib is a remote small town in the Tarn Taran district, situated a few kilometres ahead of the Beas River, which divides the Majha and Doaba regions. The town’s primary market spans an L-shaped road less than a kilometre long.Yet, ex-servicemen can still be spotted guarding the street 24×7 as a repeated severe ransom and threat calls to local traders has severely impacted the town.Shopkeepers and traders in Chohla Sahib are reluctant to speak on the record about why ex-servicemen have been deployed in the market. They have been paying these individuals from their own pockets.However, the town has shattered conventional assumptions about the extortion industry run by local gangsters. Targets have expanded beyond major businesses to include ordinary local vendors — such as electricians, mobile shop owners, and retail shop owners in small towns like Chohla Sahib — who would typically fall outside a criminal hit list.Recently, two people were murdered in a village near Chohla Sahib, which police later linked to gang rivalry. This episode once again highlighted that the area is affected with criminal gangs. A central figure known to everyone in the town is Gurwinder Singh, alias Afridi. Recently deported from a foreign country to Punjab, Afridi is now in police custody.“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.While residents hope his arrest will bring relief, many note that the situation remains complex.Story continues below this adResidents express surprise that gangsters are targeting small traders in such a small town with limited business potential. The historical town associated with the fifth Sikh Guru Guru Arjan Dev has previously been targeted by gangster Lakhbir Singh Landa, followed by Afridi and his gang headed by Prabh Dasuwal.Locals emphasise that while Afridi’s arrest is a welcome step, it is not enough, as the Dasuwal gang operates as a broader systemic network within Chohla Sahib.In off-the-record discussions with The Indian Express, local shopkeepers shared that they have stopped using WhatsApp on their primary numbers, unlisting them entirely. Instead, they use secondary numbers not legally registered in their names to keep their main contacts restricted to close family and friends. Because gangsters frequently use WhatsApp to issue threats and extort victims, traders take extreme precautions to prevent their numbers from being leaked to criminal networks, noting that criminals rely heavily on internet messaging rather than standard phone calls.“We don’t want to speak against the police. We know that we are on our own. This is why we have hired the ex-serviceman. There is nothing where we can complain and our problem can be solved,” a shopkeeper said.Story continues below this adIn July 2024, a shopkeeper, Gurjinder Singh, the owner of Preet Telecom located in the main chowk of Chohla Sahib, was asked to pay for Rs 10 lakh, and when he failed to pay, he was shot dead. It was just a start.Gurjinder Singh had informed police, however, it proved counter productive. Since then the shopkeeper and traders tightened their lips.In October 2025, two motorcycle-borne assailants opened fire on Congress block president Bhupinder Kumar Naiyar while he was present in his shop. He narrowly escaped this attack. He had also refused to pay the ransom.On the night of October 7, Palwinder Singh, alias Pindi (23), and Gurinder Singh, alias Billa (26), were shot dead in an apparent gang war. On October 24, following an extortion demand made to a doctor in Chohla Sahib, two masked individuals on a motorcycle opened fire at around 1 pm late at night after he failed to make the payments.Story continues below this ad“Most of the victims pay the ransom. First they fire at the house or shop. If still not paid, they fire at the person. The ransom amount varies from Rs 5 lakh to crores of rupees. The gangsters often get their local men among the drug addicts,” said a police officer who did not want to be named.An exchange of fire took place between police and gangsters on October 28 at village Dhun Dhai Wala in Chohla Sahib. In this encounter, a gangster, Vishwas, from Burj Deva Singh village, who got injured, was arrested along with his accomplice.Kamaldeep Singh Brar is a Principal Correspondent at The Indian Express, primarily covering Amritsar... Read More Tags:Punjab