Jaisalmer: A Punjab Police Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) team Wednesday mistakenly stopped a Haryana-registered tourist vehicle during a search operation in Jaisalmer, briefly causing panic after officers pointed weapons at the car’s occupants.Eyewitnesses said the six-member ANTF team, in plain clothes, had traced the location of a fugitive in an NDPS case to Jaisalmer and was conducting a city-wide search. Spotting the Haryana-registered car near the Neeraj Bus Stand, the team surrounded the vehicle, and one officer pointed a pistol at it before questioning the passengers. Their identities were later verified, and the car was released. The sudden action startled bystanders, many of whom initially did not realise the armed men were police personnel. Once the situation was clarified, normalcy returned to the area. Superintendent of Police Abhishek Shivhare said the ANTF team’s operation was part of their efforts to locate a wanted accused. “During their search, they took operational action against a suspicious vehicle and youth near the Neeraj Bus Stand. After verification, both were released as per procedure,” he said. Kotwali SHO Surjaram said patrolling and surveillance in the city continued uninterrupted and there was no cause for public concern. He added that Punjab Police had acted based on operational intelligence and that overall security in Jaisalmer remained normal. Police officials clarified that interstate police teams routinely conduct joint operations based on suspicious inputs to curb criminal activity, and Wednesday’s action was carried out under standard procedures.
