diff --git a/debian/ngcp-panel.init b/debian/ngcp-panel.init
index 4679af0e0b..19abb4505a 100644
--- a/debian/ngcp-panel.init
+++ b/debian/ngcp-panel.init
@@ -77,8 +77,8 @@ _start() {
     log_end_msg 0
     exit 0
   fi
-  rm -f $PIDFILE 2>/dev/null
   check_for_ongoing_startup || return 0
+  rm -f "$PIDFILE" 2>/dev/null
    # shellcheck disable=SC2086
   start-stop-daemon --start --quiet \
         --pidfile $PIDFILE \