Category: Crime

Punjab E News (March 20, 2026): The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) during its ongoing drive against corruption in the state, has apprehended Junior Engineer Lakhvir Singh posted at PSPCL office Talwandi Sabo, district Bathinda, red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs. 14,000/-.

Disclosing this here today, an official spokesperson of the state VB said the above-mentioned accused has been arrested based on a complaint lodged by a resident of Talwandi Sabo district Bathinda.

He said that the complainant’s son hit the electric pole in the street while parking his vehicle. The vehicle was damaged and the pole was also broken. Accused Resham Singh ALM and Lakhbir Singh J.E. reached to the spot and told that your vehicle will be seized. Both accused demanded a bribe of Rs. 25000/- to settle the matter. They agreed to take a bribe of Rs. 15000/- from Rs. 25000/- on complainant’s request. In this regard, Complainant had recorded the entire conversation of demanding illegal gratification.

Unwilling to pay any illegal gratification, the complainant approached the Vigilance Bureau range Bathinda. After a preliminary enquiry on his complaint, the VB team laid a trap during which the accused Junior Engineer was arrested red handed while accepting bribe money of Rs 14,000/- from the complainant in presence of two official witnesses.

In this regard, a case under prevention of corruption act has been registered against the accused at VB police station Bathinda. His co-accused Resham Singh ALM will be arrested soon and further investigation into this case is under progress.

Jalandhar News (19 March 2026): Under the leadership of M.F. Farooqui, IPS, ADGP SAP Jalandhar, and S. Harvinder Singh Virk, SSP Jalandhar Rural, the Jalandhar Rural Police carried out a Cordon and Search Operation (CASO) in various areas as part of the ongoing campaign against drugs.

The operation was conducted under the supervision of Mukesh Kumar, PPS, Superintendent of Police (HQ), Narinder Singh Aujla DSP (Sub Division Kartarpur) and Insp. Ramandeep Singh,SHO, Police station Kartarpur.Special checking was carried out at locations where the police had received information regarding the sale of narcotics or other drug-related activities. Around 125 police personnel were deployed in the identified areas to effectively monitor and execute the operation.

M.F. Farooqui, IPS, ADGP SAP Jalandhar, while sharing information, stated that a special checking was conducted today in the area of Jalandhar Rural. During this, coordinated action was taken by the police in all sensitive and hotspot areas of the district. He stated that continuous efforts are being made to eliminate drugs as per the directions of the Government and the DGP Punjab.

He further said that efforts are being made to reduce the demand for drugs by connecting with the public and spreading awareness through public meetings, so that the younger generation stays away from this menace. At the same time, strict action is being taken to break the supply line of drugs and it is necessary to demoralize the traffickers.

He also mentioned that clear directions have been issued by the Government that officials of all districts will themselves lead this campaign. Accordingly, under the guidance of the SSP Jalandhar Rural, senior officers are personally visiting the locations and supervising the operations.

Search and checking operations were conducted in village Naharpur and other various areas,identified as drug hotspots.

Jalandhar Rural Police, under the ongoing campaign against drugs, has recorded significant performance from 01.03.2026 to 18.03.2026. During this period, a total of 402 raids were conducted and 187 persons were arrested, while the arrest of 60 accused is still pending. During this period, 104 cases were registered under the NDPS Act and 122 accused were arrested.

During this period, under the NDPS Act, 522 grams of heroin, 20 kilograms of poppy husk, 317 grams of charas, 1922 tablets/capsules and ₹17,800/- drug money were recovered.

Apart from this, under the Arms Act, 04 cases were registered and 05 persons were arrested, and 02 pistols, 01 revolver, 04 cartridges, 04 shells and 01 motorcycle were recovered.

Under anti-drug initiatives, 39 drug addicts were admitted under Section 64-A of the NDPS Act, while 140 persons were admitted to de-addiction centres and 374 persons were sent to OOAT centres. During this period, a total of 18 CASO operations were conducted in the district.

Along with this, taking strict action against drug smugglers, 06 illegal properties (total value approximately ₹1.50 crore) were demolished and 07 more cases have been proposed for property demolition.

The main objective of the operation is to identify individuals involved in drug abuse and facilitate their treatment through de-addiction centres, enabling them to reintegrate into society. At the same time, strict legal action will be taken against any person involved in the sale or distribution of drugs as per law.

Jalandhar Rural Police will continue to conduct such anti-drug campaigns regularly in the district in the coming days to curb the menace of drugs.

Chandigarh News: In a major breakthrough amidst the ongoing drive to make Punjab a safe and secure state as per directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Punjab Police’s Anti Gangster Task Force (AGTF), in a joint operation with Special Task Force, Haryana (Karnal Unit) on Thursday arrested two shooters involved in Chandigarh Sector 9 murder case after a brief exchange of firing in Kaithal and recovered three sophisticated weapons from their possession, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Thursday.

Those arrested have been identified as Rajan alias Piyush Pehalwan, a resident of Ferozepur and Pritam Shah, a resident of Nawashahr. The recovered weapons include .30 bore PX-5 pistol, .30 caliber Chinese pistol and .32 caliber pistol along with ammunition.

As per the information, victim Charanpreet Singh alias Chinni was shot dead by two unidentified assailants at Sector 9, Chandigarh on Wednesday.

DGP Gaurav Yadav said that the arrested accused are the key associates of Fugitive Gangster Lucky Patial of the Bambiha gang. Preliminary investigation has also revealed that Rajan alias Piyush Pehalwan was also wanted in the high-profile murder of Yadwinder Singh, driver of Jiwanjot Singh alias Jugnu, he said.

The DGP said that AGTF Punjab has unmasked the entire module and arrested the accused in less than 30 hours. Further investigations are ongoing, he added.

Sharing operational details, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) AGTF Promod Ban said that following the incident, AGTF promptly launched a special operation “OPs Silent Trigger” under the supervision of DIG AGTF Gurmit Singh Chauhan to unmask and arrest the accused persons involved in this case.

He said that during the operation, the accused opened fire on police teams led by SP AGTF Bikramjit Singh Brar. In the retaliatory exchange, both accused sustained injuries and were immediately shifted to the hospital for treatment, he said.

The ADGP said that initial interrogation has also revealed that accused Piyush came from Malaysia via Nepal to execute the killing on the directions of his foreign-based handler.

Faridkot News: The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) during its ongoing drive against corruption in the state, has apprehended Warehouse Inspector Naresh Kumar Goyal posted at Warehouse Jaito Mandi district Faridkot, red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs. 18,000/-.

Disclosing this here today, an official spokesperson of the state VB said the above-mentioned accused has been arrested based on a complaint lodged by a resident of village Ghania district Faridkot.

He said that the complainant works as
Arhtiya (commission agent) and accused Warehouse Inspector Naresh Kumar Goyal purchase crop from arhtiyas. Accused Warehouse Inspector demanded a bribe of Rs. 18500 from the complainant and said that he will not allow to pick up his upcoming wheat crop from the Mandi if complainant will not give him bribe. Complainant alleged that accused Inspector usually raise false defects of the purchased crops from the farmers to get bribe.

Unwilling to pay any illegal gratification, the complainant approached the Vigilance Bureau range Ferozepur. After a preliminary enquiry on his complaint, the VB team laid a trap during which the accused Inspector was arrested red handed while accepting bribe money of Rs 18,000/- from the complainant in presence of two official witnesses.

In this regard, a case under prevention of corruption act has been registered against the accused at VB police station Ferozepur and further investigation into this case is under progress.

Chandigarh News: In a relentless pursuit to eradicate the drug menace from Punjab as per the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Punjab Police on Thursday conducted a statewide Cordon and Search Operation (CASO) at identified drug Hotspots— the points of sale of drugs and psychotropic substances— across the state as part of the Yudh Nashian Virudh, marking the 383rd day of the intensified anti-drug campaign.

The CASO was conducted simultaneously in all 28 Police districts of the state on the directions of Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav. Senior officers from the Punjab Police Headquarters (PPHQs) were deputed in different districts to personally supervise the CASO.

During the daylong operation, police teams have conducted raids at 426 drug hotspots across the state leading to arrest of 248 persons after registration of 200 first information reports (FIRs). Police teams have also recovered 710 grams heroin, 20 kg poppy husk, 2655 intoxicant tablets/capsules and Rs 14,150 drug money from the possession of arrested drug smugglers.

Notably, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann has asked the Commissioners of Police, Deputy Commissioners and Senior Superintendent of Police to make Punjab drug free state. The Punjab government has also constituted a 5-member Cabinet Sub Committee led by Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema to monitor the war against drugs.

Special DGP Law and Order Arpit Shukla, who was personally overseeing the operation, said that the ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’ campaign launched on March 1, 2025, has resulted in arrest of 54,190 drug smugglers after registration of 38,119 first information reports (FIRs) across the state and led to recovery of 2384 kg heroin, 715 kg opium, 303 quintals poppy husk, 834 kg ganja, 51.35 lakh intoxicant tablets/capsules, 36 kg ICE and Rs 17 crores drug money from the possession of drug smugglers.

The Special DGP said that as part of De-addiction, the Punjab Police has convinced 1.21 lakh persons to undergo de-addiction and rehabilitation treatment at De-addiction or OOAT Centres.

Meanwhile, the ‘Gangstran te Vaar’ campaign continued on Day 58 with Police teams arresting 207 individuals with four weapons, taking the total arrests to 15,458 since the launch of the campaign. Apart from this, preventive action has been taken against 80 persons, whereas, 101 persons were verified and released after questioning. Police teams have also arrested six proclaimed offenders (POs) during the operation.

Amritsar News (March 19): In a major breakthrough amidst the ongoing drive to make Punjab a safe and secure state as per directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Amritsar Commissionerate Police has busted a cross-border illegal arms smuggling module with the arrest of six accused persons, including one juvenile, and recovered seven sophisticated pistols from their possession, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Thursday.

Those arrested have been identified as Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi (27) of village Burj in Amritsar, Manish Kumar alias Jerry (24) of Sunder Nagar in Batala, Saroop Singh alias Roop (27) of village Chuchakwal in Amritsar, Chamkaur Singh (20) of village Fatehpur Rajputa in Amritsar and Vansh Sharma (23) of Bhikhiwind in Tarn Taran. The recovered lethal weapons include five 9MM Glock pistols and two .30 bore pistols.

DGP Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused were in contact with a foreign-based handler operating from Portugal, facilitating the smuggling of illegal arms from Pakistan via drones. The accused used to retrieve these consignments and further supply them to criminal elements, he said.

The DGP said that further investigation is underway to establish forward and backward linkages in this case to dismantle the entire network.

Sharing operational details, Commissioner of Police (CP) Amritsar Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that acting on secret information, police teams conducted a planned operation which led to the arrest Gurpreet alias Gopi and one Juvenile and two 9MM Glock pistols were recovered from their possession.

During further interrogation, more disclosures led to the arrest of their accomplices Manish alias Jerry, Saroop alias Roop and Chamkaur Singh and three more 9MM Glock pistols were recovered from their possession, he said, while adding that subsequently, on the disclosure of accused Chamkaur Singh, Vansh Sharma was also arrested along with two .30 bore pistols.

The CP said that accused Manish alias Jerry was earlier involved in a firing incident on police officials at Batala last year and was absconding in that case. Similarly, accused Saroop alias Roop also has a history of criminal involvement, with multiple cases pertaining to the NDPS Act and in theft cases registered against him, he added.

In this regard, a case FIR No 42 dated 11-03-2026 has been registered under sections 25(6), 25(7)(i) and 25(8) of the Arms Act at Police Station Cantonment in Amritsar.

Chandigarh News (19 March 2026): The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB), during its ongoing crusade against corruption in the state, has been able to apprehend 17 government officials and one private person red handed while accepting bribes in 14 different trap cases during the month of February.

Disclosing this here today, an official spokesperson of the state VB said the VB has put up its best efforts to eradicate corruption amongst public servants and others in every sphere during the period.

He informed that the Bureau had submitted challans pertaining to 26 vigilance cases in various competent courts in the last month. Apart from this, 3 vigilance enquiries have also been registered to thoroughly probe the corruption cases. He added that 9 criminal cases were also registered against 35 accused which include 11 government employees.

Giving more details, he added that different competent courts had decided four bribery cases filed and contested by the Bureau during the last month, in which four persons were convicted and sentenced ranging from three and half years to four years imprisonment and fine ranging from Rs. 10,000/- to 50,000/-.