Category: Crime

Punjab News: With the war against drugs “Yudh Nashian Virudh” waged on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to eradicate drug menace from state entered 97th day, Punjab Police on Thursday arrested 134 drug smugglers and recovered 1.08 kg heroin and Rs 4.97 lakhs drug money from their possession. With this, the number of total drug smugglers arrested has reached to 16,079 in just 97 days.

The operation was conducted on the directions of Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav simultaneously in all 28 Police districts of the state.

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.

Divulging details, Special DGP Law and Order Arpit Shukla informed that over 200 Police teams, comprising over 1500 police personnel, under the supervision of 94 gazetted officers have conducted raids at as many as 537 locations across the state leading to the registration of 96 first information reports (FIRs) across the state. Police teams have also checked as many as 572 suspicious persons during the day-long operation, he added.

The Special DGP said that with the state government has enforced a three-pronged strategy— Enforcement, Deaddiction and Prevention (EDP)— to eradicate drugs from the state, the Punjab Police as part of ‘De-addiction’ has convinced 110 persons to undergo de-addiction and rehabilitation treatment today.

Amritsar News: Amidst the ongoing drive to make Punjab a safe and secure state as per the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Counter Intelligence (CI) Amritsar has busted a cross-border illegal arms smuggling module with links to Pakistan and arrested two of its operatives, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav on Friday.

Those arrested have been identified as Sukhchain Singh, a resident of Daoke in Amritsar and Jugraj Singh, a resident of village Bhakna Kalan in Amritsar. Police teams have also recovered eight sophisticated pistols— three 9MM Glock, four Px5, and one .30 bore pistol— from their possession, besides, impounding their black Splendor motorcycle (PB02DC1197) being used for transporting the consignments.

DGP Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary investigations have revealed that the accused were acting under the directions of Pakistan-based smuggler identified as Noor, a resident of Manihala in Pakistan, who has been using drones to drop weapon consignments from across the border. The arrested accused were further distributing the arms to gangsters across Punjab with intention to fuel criminal activities in the state, he said.

Sharing operation details, the DGP said that CI Amritsar has received specific intelligence about retrieval of weapon consignment from near village Bhaini Rajputtan in the jurisdiction of Gharinda in Amritsar.

Acting swiftly, police teams have intercepted duo on Amritsar-Attari GT Road near Khasa in Amritsar, when they were going to deliver the consignment on their motorcycle, and recovered weapons from their possession, he said, while adding that further investigations are underway to uncover the network’s backward and forward linkages.

A case FIR No. 34 dated 05.06.2025 under sections 25, 25(1)(A) and 25(1)(B) of the Arms Act and section 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) has been registered at Police Station SSOC, Amritsar.

Patiala News: As part of the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann led Punjab Government’s ongoing relentless war against drugs ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’, Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav on Tuesday inaugurated the newly constructed ultra-modern Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) Patiala Range office at Police Lines in Patiala. The DGP was accompanied by Special DGP ANTF Kuldeep Singh and ADGP ANTF Nilabh Kishore.

The state-of-the-art two-storey building, built at a cost of Rs 1 crore over 6,800 square feet, is equipped with advanced technological tools to combat drug trafficking more effectively.

DGP Gaurav Yadav said that this facility has been equipped with cutting-edge forensic tools, data analysis systems, forensic data extraction and decryption capabilities and cryptocurrency investigation equipment. A dedicated team of skilled technical experts has been deployed to maximise the effectiveness of these resources, ensuring that no criminal network can operate with impunity in Punjab, he said.

“To enhance rapid response and operational mobility, the unit has also been strengthened with new vehicles, enabling swift and decisive field action,” said the DGP.

Addressing the media after inaugurating the ANTF building, DGP Gaurav Yadav termed the ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’ campaign as a huge success and said that this campaign will be continued till the scourge of drugs eradicated from the state.

Punjab Police has adopted a comprehensive approach targeting not just drug peddlers but also the big fish behind this. “While we’re coming down hard on smugglers, we’re equally focused on rehabilitating victims and preventing youth from falling into this trap,” he said, while adding that no Police Station or Police officer has been given any kind of target.

Terming the ANTF as the nucleus of this anti-drugs drive, the DGP said that the apart from coordinating and monitoring the enforcement activities in the districts, this unit has been instrumental in implementing de-addiction strategies in coordination with other departments.

He informed that Punjab Government had provided grant of Rs 12 crores in last financial year to the ANTF for the technical modernisation, while, this year the grant has been enhanced to Rs 13.5 crores, which is being utilised to further strengthen the infrastructure of the ANTF. In Jalandhar range, similar office of the ANTF is under construction, while, very soon all the ranges will have the ANTF office, he said.

DGP Gaurav Yadav said that the ‘Safe Punjab’ WhatsApp Chatbot portal— 9779100200— emerged as a game-changer as it has received an overwhelming response from the public for its confidentiality feature encouraging individuals to report smugglers, addicts, and providing suggestions. Out of 7635 tips received, 1596 FIRs were registered after investigation which resulted in the arrest of 1814 accused, he said.

Sharing outcome of the ‘Yudh Nashe Virudh’ campaign, the DGP said that Punjab Police has registered 8,960 FIRs and arrested 15,272 drug smugglers since March 1, 2025, and recovered 603 kg heroin, 249 kg opium, 14 ton poppy husk, 9 kg charas, 262 kg ganja, 2.5 kg ICE, 1.6 kg cocaine, 26.28 lakh intoxicant pills/tablets and Rs 10.81 crores drug money from their possession. Illegally acquired properties of 144 drug smugglers worth 74.27 Crores has been freezed, he added.

DGP Gaurav Yadav highlighted the humane aspect of their strategy, noting that 1,121 drug users caught with small quantities have been sent for rehabilitation under the provision of Section 64-A of NDPS Act instead of being treated as criminals. Additionally, police have facilitated treatment for 5,786 addicts at de-addiction centers and convinced 6,483 others to avail services at OOAT clinics.

He also credited the campaign’s success to massive public support, particularly through 19,559 Village Defence Committees actively assisting authorities. Urging citizens to continue supporting this people’s movement against drugs, the DGP exhorted people to report drug-related information confidentially at Safe Punjab Chatbot: 9779100200.

He said that Punjab Police is also exploring the use of GPS anklets to track and monitor activities of big drug smugglers released on bail, said the DGP, while stating, “We are examining the proposal from legal point of view to track the movement and monitor activities of bailed out big smugglers through GPS anklets with the approval of competent Court,” he said.

DGP Gaurav Yadav said that Punjab Police has also been developing an AI-powered hierarchical database to map arrested persons under NDPS Act with backward and forward linkages to be traced upto two levels in each arrest.

Also present on the occasion were DIG ANTF Sanjeev Kumar Rampal, DIG Patiala Range Dr Nanak Singh, SSP Varun Sharma and AIG ANTF Bhupinder Singh.

Tarn Taran News: In a major counter-espionage operation amidst the ongoing drive to make Punjab a safe and secure state as per vision of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Counter Intelligence Punjab in joint operation with Tarn Taran Police has arrested an individual— linked to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), for sharing sensitive information concerning army movements during Operation Sindoor, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav on Tuesday.

The arrested accused has been identified as Gagandeep Singh alias Gagan, a resident of Mohalla Rodupur in Tarn Taran.

DGP Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary investigation has revealed that accused Gagandeep Singh was in direct contact with Pakistan-based Khalistani supporter Gopal Singh Chawla for past five years, through whom he was introduced to Pakistani Intelligence Operatives (PIOs). Investigations have also revealed that the arrested accused had been sharing classified information, including troop deployments, strategic locations, and army movements during ‘Operation Sindoor’, posing a serious threat to national security, he said.

He said that police teams have recovered two mobile devices from the possession of accused Gagandeep, containing sensitive intelligence that he shared with the PIOs, as well as the details of over 20 ISI contacts. The accused has also received payments from PIOs via Indian Channels, he said.

The DGP said that thorough financial and technical investigations are underway to trace other linkages and establish the full scope of this espionage network.

Sharing operation details, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Tarn Taran Abhimanyu Rana said that acting on specific intelligence from CI Punjab, a team led by SP City Dr Riputapan Singh Sandhu and DSP (D) Gurinderpal Singh Nagra arrested accused Gagandeep Singh from near Muradpura in Tarn Taran, and seized his mobile devices.

“During interrogation, the accused disclosed that he was tasked by ISI handlers to gather sensitive information about deployment in border area, including railway stations and Amritsar city. He was also receiving monetary benefits for espionage activities,” said the SSP. Further investigation is on and more arrests are likely in coming days, he added.

A case under FIR No. 137, dated June 03, 2025, has been registered under sections 3, 4, 5 and 21 of the Official Secrets Act and section 152 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Police Station City Tarn Taran.

Punjab News: With the war against drugs “Yudh Nashian Virudh” waged on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to eradicate drug menace from state entered 93rd day, Punjab Police on Monday arrested 98 drug smugglers and recovered 1.5 kg heroin, 2508 intoxicant pills and Rs 3900 drug money from their possession. With this, the number of total drug smugglers arrested has reached to 15,117 in just 93 days.

The operation was conducted on the directions of Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav simultaneously in all 28 Police districts of the state.

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.

Divulging details, Special DGP Law and Order Arpit Shukla informed that over 200 Police teams, comprising over 1400 police personnel, under the supervision of 93 gazetted officers have conducted raids at as many as 510 locations across the state leading to the registration of 77 first information reports (FIRs) across the state. Police teams have also checked as many as 523 suspicious persons during the day-long operation, he added.

The Special DGP said that with the state government has enforced a three-pronged strategy— Enforcement, Deaddiction and Prevention (EDP)— to eradicate drugs from the state, the Punjab Police as part of ‘De-addiction’ has convinced 60 persons to undergo de-addiction and rehabilitation treatment today.

Punjab News: With the war against drugs “Yudh Nashian Virudh” waged on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to eradicate drug menace from state entered 92nd day, Punjab Police on Sunday arrested 113 drug smugglers and recovered 2.09 kg heroin, 530 grams opium, 32679 intoxicant pills and Rs 1.8 lakhs drug money from their possession. With this, the number of total drug smugglers arrested has reached to 14,944 in just 92 days.

The operation was conducted on the directions of Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav simultaneously in all 28 Police districts of the state.

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.

Divulging details, Special DGP Law and Order Arpit Shukla informed that over 200 Police teams, comprising over 1400 police personnel, under the supervision of 86 gazetted officers have conducted raids at as many as 461 locations across the state leading to the registration of 83 first information reports (FIRs) across the state. Police teams have also checked as many as 382 suspicious persons during the day-long operation, he added.

The Special DGP said that with the state government has enforced a three-pronged strategy— Enforcement, Deaddiction and Prevention (EDP)— to eradicate drugs from the state, the Punjab Police as part of ‘De-addiction’ has convinced 92 persons to undergo de-addiction and rehabilitation treatment today.

Meanwhile, Police teams have also conducted checking at as many as 106 pharmaceutical shops in five districts including Fazilka, Ferozepur, Sri Muktsar Sahib, Faridkot and Moga to ensure that they are not selling intoxicant tablets or any other habit-forming drugs, and are adhering to the prescribed norms and regulations regarding the sale of medicines.