Punjab Police have formally petitioned the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in India to block the upcoming documentary series 'Lawrence of Punjab', scheduled for release on April 27 on ZEE5. The special director general of police (cyber crime), V Neeraja, invoked Section 69A(1) of the Information Technology Act, arguing that the series risks romanticizing organized crime and normalizing violence, particularly through dramatized portrayals of incidents like the 2022 murder of singer Sidhu Moose Wala. The police expressed concerns that the series could influence impressionable youth and disrupt public order in Punjab. Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, president of the Punjab Congress, criticized the series as a “slap” to Punjabis and filed a public interest litigation in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, asserting that the state's identity should be defined by its cultural icons rather than criminal figures. In response, Zee5 and Riverland Entertainment defended the project, stating it is a sociological study aimed at examining the intersection of student politics and media in shaping criminal syndicates, rather than glorifying individuals. Despite these assurances, Warring emphasized the need to protect Punjab's identity from media portrayals that glorify violence.