A former student of Goswami Ganesh Dutta Sanatan Dharma (GGDSD) College, Sector 32, was arrested with a licensed Glock handgun near the college on Tuesday evening, almost a month before the campus is scheduled to hold its annual student elections.
The college has, in the past, witnessed multiple instances of violence in the run-up to the elections.
The accused, Arman Preet Singh of Hardialeana village in Faridkot, was travelling in a Ford SUV bearing a VIP registration number when police stopped the vehicle for checking. On finding the handgun inside, police arrested him.
According to police, Singh told them that the weapon had been handed over to him by someone and that he was supposed to deliver it to another person.
Police said Singh had graduated from the college about two years ago. He is currently neither enrolled in any course nor employed, but continues to reside in the city. Police are probing whether he has links with any of the student parties on campus.
SD College principal Ajay Sharma said security had been heightened on the campus in view of the approaching elections.
“We have already held meetings with student parties, their representatives and the police. The Lyngdoh Committee guidelines have also been circulated,” he said.
As a precautionary measure, the college has also decided to bar outsiders from entering the campus until the elections. “Only those with student ID cards will be allowed on campus till polling day,” Sharma said.
The elections are scheduled to be held in early September.
Meanwhile, a case under the Arms Act has been registered at the Sector 34 police station in connection with the recovery of the Glock handgun.
