With the Punjab Chief Minister (CM) on Tuesday announcing student union elections in state’s colleges and varsities after over 30 years from next academic session in the state, criminal gangs having alleged links with various student organisations appears to be a tough challenge for the Punjab Police.

The Chief Minister (CM) Amarinder Singh said on Tuesday that the groups having past criminal records should come forward to surrender else they will not be speared.

Speaking to reporters in the Press gallery at the Assembly, Amarinder said the state police was going to deal with gangsters strictly who are having political affiliations with certain student unions in the state.

Earlier, the CM made the announcement of student union elections in the House during a reply to discussion on the governor’s address in the Punjab assembly. “Direct elections to student unions will now be held. Congress had promised revival of student elections. Hence, we are fulfilling the promise”, he said.

As a sign of marked improvement in law and order and policing, the CM said the police had busted eight modules involved in targeted killings in the state, besides eliminated gangs of criminals created or promoted during 10 years of Shiromani Akali Dal and Bhartiya Janta Party government.

The CM said that as many as 707 gangsters had been arrested and eight modules have been bursted so far.”Nobody would be allowed to vitiate the atmosphere of Punjab. The Halqa system had been abolished and the government followed a policy of no political interference in civil and police functioning”, said the CM.

The CM also informed the House that of the 32 cases of sacrilege, 22 had been solved. “No such incident had taken place since the Congress government took over suggested political involvement of the previous ruling party”, added the

CM. The Justice Ranjit Singh Commission inquiry into the sacrilege cases was near completion, he said, rejecting Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia’s request that the investigation into these cases be handed over to a retired Supreme Court judge since Justice Ranjit Singh had links with Leader of Opposition Sukhpal Singh Khaira.

Justice Ranjit Singh was an outstanding judge, said Amarinder Singh, adding that all Jats had relationships embedded within many families, and if the government started taking all those into account it would not be able to find good people for carrying out its work.