KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
16-May-2026
Police on May 16 arrested a youth, identified as Balwant Singh and seized 20 kg of poppy husk from his possession, in Subhanpur, Kapurthala district.
15-May-2026
The Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) on May 15 arrested a drug smuggler, identified as Abhimanyu, and seized 1.5 kg of heroin following an exchange of fire between the smugglers and the CIA team, in which former sarpanch (village head) Satpal Singh was injured, in Begowal town, Kapurthala district.
15-May-2026
On May 15, the 115th day of Punjab Police’s statewide “war on gangsters” (Gangstran Te Vaar) campaign—Operation Prahar— the police conducted 552 raids, arrested 276 persons and recovered 11 weapons from their possession. Preventive action was taken against 102 individuals, while 21 persons were verified and released after questioning. Eight proclaimed offenders (POs) were also arrested during the operation.
15-May-2026
On May 15, Punjab Police, on day 440 of its “Yudh Nashian Virudh” campaign, arrested 93 drug smugglers, and seized 286 grams of heroin, 7 kg of poppy husk, 318 intoxicant tablets/capsules and INR 10,330 drug money from the possession of arrested persons, across the state.
14-May-2026
Police on May 14 arrested a youth, identified as Paras, and recovered six grams of heroin from his possession in Phagwara, Kapurthala district.
14-May-2026
Police on May 14 arrested a person, identified as Sarabjit Singh, and seized 25 intoxicating tablets from his possession in Nurmahal, Jalandhar district.
14-May-2026
On May 14, the 114th day of Punjab Police’s statewide “war on gangsters” (Gangstran Te Vaar) campaign—Operation Prahar— the police arrested 292 persons and recovered six weapons from their possession. Preventive action was taken against 102 individuals., while 14 proclaimed offenders (POs) were also arrested during the operation.
14-May-2026
Punjab Police, in a joint operation with the Special Cell of Delhi Police, on May 14 arrested Umar Deen, accused of planting an IED near the main gate of the Border Security Force (BSF) Punjab Frontier headquarters in Jalandhar on May 5, in New Delhi. Deen, a taxi driver living near Zirakpur for the past few months, allegedly conducted a two-day recce before planting the bomb concealed in a scooter. Investigators are probing his links with other accused, possible handlers, and the role of Pakistan-based gangster-turned-terrorist Shahzad Bhatti. Meanwhile, security agencies also arrested another accused, Anil Sharma from Uttar Pradesh (UP), in connection with the case. More than a dozen suspects have reportedly been questioned as agencies investigate a wider conspiracy behind the blasts.
14-May-2026
Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Bhagwant Mann on May 14 said in Batala that the Punjab government would eliminate the “blot of drugs” from the state, asserting that the anti-drug campaign ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’ has dealt a major blow to narcotics networks. He said 63,707 drug smugglers were arrested in 437 days and properties built with drug money were demolished across Punjab. Mann also highlighted the ongoing 112-day ‘Gangstran Te Vaar’ crackdown, welfare initiatives for women and healthcare, and claimed the state’s anti-sacrilege law had stopped incidents of ‘beadbi’ of the Guru Granth Sahib in Punjab.
14-May-2026
A local court on May 14 framed charges against Khadoor Sahib Member of Parliament (MP) Amritpal Singh in connection with the February 2023 attack on the Ajnala police station in Amritsar district. The charges include attempt to murder, causing grievous injuries, obstructing public servants, criminal conspiracy, damaging government property, and issuing death threats while leading an unlawful mob. However, the court dropped charges under the Arms Act and destruction of evidence after the defence argued that no weapons were recovered from the accused.
13-May-2026
A 22-year-old salon worker, identified as Kunal, was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Tehsilpura area, Amritsar district on the night of May 13. Reports indicate that the attackers allegedly paraded his body on a scooter through Sharifpura in the early hours of May 14 and filmed the act to send videos and photographs to the alleged mastermind. Police suspect the killing was linked to a gang rivalry involving associates of gangster Sukha Ambarsaria. Raids are underway to arrest the main accused, identified as Vansh, while several suspects have been detained for questioning.
13-May-2026
Two separate encounters occurred at the same location on May 13 after a police team probing a crossfire incident came under fresh attack from associates of a gangster, in Tarn Taran district. In the first encounter, two alleged gangster aides, Akashdeep and Sunny, were injured in a gunfight with the Valtoha police. While officers were still at the scene, two more suspects, Sunny and Sukhwinder, allegedly sent by the gangster mastermind, attacked the police team and were later overpowered after sustaining bullet injuries.
13-May-2026
On May 13, the 113th day of Punjab Police’s statewide “war on gangsters” (Gangstran Te Vaar) campaign—Operation Prahar— the police conducted 552 raids, arrested 268 persons and recovered three weapons from their possession. Preventive action was taken against 102 individuals, while 21 persons were verified and released after questioning. Six proclaimed offenders (POs) were also arrested during the operation.
13-May-2026
On May 13, Punjab Police, on day 438 of its “Yudh Nashian Virudh” campaign, arrested 92 drug smugglers, and seized 5.9 kg of heroin, 273 intoxicant tablets/capsules and INR 5315 drug money from the possession of arrested persons, across the state.
13-May-2026
Amritsar district police on May 13 busted an illegal arms smuggling module and arrested five persons, including a juvenile, identified as Akashdeep Singh alias Akash, Harmandeep Singh, Manish Singh alias Manish and Kishan Singh and seized five pistols, including foreign-made weapons from Italy, the US, Croatia and Austria, along with 12 live cartridges, in Amritsar district.
13-May-2026
Three operatives linked to foreign-based fugitive gangster Happy Jatt — Jatin Singh, Sajandeep Singh and Mehakdeep Singh — were arrested near the Indo-Bhutan border in West Bengal while allegedly trying to flee to Bhutan, Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav said on May 13. The trio is wanted in the Batala double-murder case linked to the April 27 shooting at Bhoma village in Batala, where two persons were killed and another injured after unidentified bikers opened fire.
12-May-2026
On May 12, the 112th day of Punjab Police’s statewide “war on gangsters” (Gangstran Te Vaar) campaign—Operation Prahar— the police conducted 484 raids, arrested 213 persons and recovered two weapons from their possession. Preventive action was taken against 66 individuals, while 28 persons were verified and released after questioning. 11 proclaimed offenders (POs) were also arrested during the operation.
12-May-2026
On May 12, Punjab Police, on day 437 of its “Yudh Nashian Virudh” campaign, arrested 105 drug smugglers, and seized 847 grams of heroin, 2 kg of ganja, 46 kg of poppy husk, 392 intoxicant tablets/capsules and INR 1.28 lakh drug money from the possession of arrested persons, across the state.
12-May-2026
The Khalra police and the Border Security Force (BSF), in a joint operation on May 12, seized 1.019 kg of heroin from a field in Wan Tara Singh village, Tarn Taran district.
12-May-2026
The Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) on May 12 busted a heroin trafficking network, arresting four accused, identified as Akashdeep Singh alias Akash, Robin Kumar, Santosh Rani, and her 15-year-old son and seizing 7.858 kg of heroin, in Ferozepur district.