Category: Crime

Chandigarh: The Punjab Police has launched a large-scale investigation into the backgrounds and activities of around 50 individuals believed to be linked to six people recently arrested on charges of spying for Pakistan.

Police sources said the six suspects—five men and a woman—were apprehended from Pathankot, Malerkotla, Bathinda, and Gurdaspur following heightened security concerns after the recent Indo-Pak clash. The ongoing probe is aimed at identifying any wider network operating within the state.

After technical surveillance and human intelligence inputs, investigators identified 50 persons as direct or indirect associates of the arrested individuals. Although these persons have not been taken into custody, their contacts and activities are under close scrutiny.

“Many of those questioned have denied knowledge of any spying activity, but they will be cleared only after a thorough verification process,” a police official said. The police are currently verifying all connections and communication records related to the accused.

Punjab News: Continuing the war against drugs “Yudh Nashian Virudh” waged on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to eradicate drug menace from state consecutively for the 78th day, Punjab Police on Sunday carried out a special operation ‘OPS Seal-XIII’ aimed at checking all the vehicles entering or exiting the border state of Punjab to keep tab at drug trafficking and liquor smuggling.

During the operation, conducted in all the districts on the directions of Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav, all the SSPs of Border districts were directed to organise joint Naka operations at strategic places of the border districts and mobilise a maximum number of manpower to lay strong ‘nakas’ at sealing points under the supervision of Gazetted officers/SHOs.

Sharing details, Special DGP Law and Order Arpit Shukla said that well-coordinated strong nakas involving over 1000 Police Personnel were set up under the supervision of Inspectors/DSPs at least 92 entry/exit points of 10 districts, which share boundaries with four border states and UT Chandigarh. The 10 inter-state border districts include Pathankot, Sri Muktsar Sahib, Fazilka, Rupanagar, SAS Nagar, Patiala, Sangrur, Mansa, Hoshiarpur and Bathinda.

He said that as many as 4244 vehicles entering/exiting the state were checked, of which 511 were challaned and 39 were impounded during the operation.

Apart from this, Police teams have continued its cordon and search operation (CASO) against drugs and conducted raids at 490 locations on Sunday leading to the arrest of 136 drug smugglers after registration of 109 first information reports (FIRs) across the state. With this, the number of total drug smugglers arrested has reached to 11860 within 78 days.

The Special DGP said that the raids have resulted in recovery of 11.3 kg heroin and Rs 3.48 lakh drug money from the possession of arrested drug smugglers.

He said that informed that over 200 Police teams, comprising over 1400 police personnel, under the supervision of 95 gazetted officers have conducted raids across the state and checked as many as 532 suspicious persons during the day long operation.

He said that Punjab Police has devised a comprehensive strategy and such operations will be continued till the scourge of drugs eradicated from the state.

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 103 persons to undergo de-addiction and rehabilitation treatment today.

Vows Relentless Action Against Crime to Uphold Law and Order

Jalandhar News: In a significant achievement in the ongoing initiative “Yudh Nashian Virudh”, the CIA staff of Commissionerate Jalandhar apprehended three individuals and seized four illegal pistols (.32 bore), eight live rounds, and 150 grams of heroin.

Divulging the details, Commissioner of Police Smt. Dhanpreet Kaur said that on May 17, 2025, CIA team was conducting routine patrols in the area from Maqsudan Chowk to Bidhipur, Jalandhar. During this operation, near Phatak Suranusi, the team observed two suspicious individuals and proceeded to search them. The first suspect, identified as Harjinder Singh alias Mani Valiya, son of Piyara Singh resident of H.No. 8, Shaheed Udham Singh Nagar, Jalandhar, was found in possession of 100 grams of heroin, one .32 bore pistol, and two live rounds. The second accused, Mohit alias Lovely, son of Iqbal Singh resident of H.No.21, Shiv Nagar Sodal Road, Jalandhar, was carrying 50 grams of heroin, one .32 bore pistol, and two live rounds. Consequently, an FIR No. 79 was registered under Sections 21, 61, and 85 of the NDPS Act and Sections 25-1(B), 54, and 59 of the Arms Act at Police Station Division No.1, Jalandhar.

In a separate operation, another CIA team, while patrolling near Chugitti, received a tip-off regarding an individual allegedly carrying illegal weapons in a garden behind Union Bank. The team promptly acted and arrested Aakashdeep alias Kalu, son of Junas resident of H.No. BX 1262, Lamba Pind Chowk, Jalandhar. A search of his possession led to the recovery of two .32 bore pistols along with four live rounds. An FIR No. 136 was subsequently registered under Sections 25-1(B), 54, and 59 of the Arms Act at Police Station Rama Mandi, Jalandhar.

She further mentioned that all three accused are habitual offenders with a history of criminal activities. A total of seven previous FIRs have been registered against them under the NDPS Act, Arms Act, and various other criminal provisions.

“These arrests are a testament to the unwavering commitment of the Jalandhar Police to maintaining law and order and ensuring the safety and security of its citizens,” stated CP Jalandhar. “The CIA staff has once again demonstrated its effectiveness in tackling drug trafficking and illegal arms possession.”

The Jalandhar Police reiterates its zero-tolerance policy towards crime and assures the public that strong and sustained efforts will continue against anti-social elements in the city.

Amritsar News: Dealing a major blow to a cross-border drug smuggling amidst the ongoing anti-drug campaign ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’ campaign launched on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Commissionerate Police Amritsar has busted an International Narco Trafficking Cartel with the arrest its three operatives and recovered 10.2 kg heroin from their possession, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Sunday.

The arrested drug smugglers have been identified as Akashdeep Singh (22) and Akash alias Mota (19), both residents of Cheema Kalan in Tarn Taran; and Sandeep Singh (30), a resident of Kotli Vasawa Singh in Tarn Taran. Apart from recovering haul of heroin, police teams have also impounded their two motorcycles, which were being used to deliver the heroin.

DGP Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary probe has revealed that arrested accused Akashdeep Singh and Sandeep Singh remained in touch with Pakistan smugglers from across the border for the past 6 years. The latter were using drones to deliver heroin consignments across the border, which was then distributed at various locations for further distribution, he said.

The DGP said that further investigations are underway to trace backward and forward linkages in this network.

Sharing operation details, Commissioner of Police (CP) Amritsar Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that acting on reliable inputs, a team under the supervision of DCP Detective Ravinderpal Singh, ADCP Detective Jagbinder Singh and ACP Detective Harminder Singh Sandhu and led by Incharge CIA Staff-1 Amolakdeep Singh, successfully apprehended the accused Akashdeep Singh and Akash alias Mota from Gurudwara Bohri Sahib road, along with 1.01 kg heroin and a motorcycle.

He said that based on the interrogation of arrested accused persons, police teams have also arrested their accomplice Sandeep Singh from Chabhal Road along with 9.2 kg of heroin and a motorcycle.

The CP said that accused Sandeep had been involved in supplying heroin since 2018–19 and is suspected to have smuggled over 200 kilograms of heroin so far. Police remand has been obtained to interrogate the accused and uncover their entire network, he said, while, adding that more arrests and recoveries are expected in the coming days.

A case FIR No. 127 dated 16-05-2025 has been registered under sections 21-C, 23 and 29 of the NDPS Act at Police Station Islamabad in Amritsar.