KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
11-Feb-2026
Sixteen private schools in Mohali, Punjab, on February 11, received bomb threat emails. However, Security agencies conducted thorough searches of the campuses, but no suspicious objects were found.
11-Feb-2026
During the 72-hour second phase of Punjab Police’s statewide “War on Gangsters” (Gangsters Te Vaar) campaign—Operation Prahaar-2—a total of 7,498 individuals were rounded up across the state, of whom 3,260, including 135 proclaimed offenders (POs), were arrested. Police recovered 47 weapons, 4.8 kg of heroin, 3.6 kg of opium, 42,797 intoxicant tablets, 68 kg of poppy husk, and ₹30 lakh in drug money. Additionally, 1,450 preventive arrests were made, while 2,788 persons were verified and released after questioning.
11-Feb-2026
On February 11, Punjab Police, on day 347 of its “Yudh Nashian Virudh” campaign, arrested 164 drug smugglers and seized 11.9 kg of heroin, 344 intoxicant tablets/capsules and INR 4700 drug money from the possession of arrested persons, across the state.
11-Feb-2026
The State Special Operations Cell (SSOC) Amritsar on February 11 busted a Pakistan-backed terror module and foiled a planned attack by arresting one accused, identified as Shubham Kumar alias Shubham Srivastav and recovering an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and a foreign-made pistol along with ammunition on the Amritsar–Jalandhar GT Road in Amritsar district. According to Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav, the IED was intended for targeted attacks in Punjab, Delhi, and other states. The accused, believed to be highly radicalized, had travelled from Uttar Pradesh to Amritsar after being promised a large sum by his handler.
10-Feb-2026
The Khalra Police and the Border Security Force (BSF), during a joint search operation on February 10, recovered 1 kg of heroin from a field in Wan Tara Singh village, Tarn Taran district.
10-Feb-2026
The Government Railway Police (GRP) on February on February 10 arrested one person, identified as Jagdish, and seized 1.25 kg of opium from his possession at Ludhiana railway station in Ludhiana district.
10-Feb-2026
The State Special Operations Cell (SSOC), Amritsar, on February 10 foiled an alleged Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)-backed terror plot with the arrest of one accused, identified as Rahul Kumar alias Gaju, and recovered an RDX-based Improvised Explosive Device (IED) from his possession on Chamrang Road in Amritsar district. Preliminary investigations indicated that the accused, who works as a salon assistant in Amritsar, was in contact with a foreign-based handler allegedly acting under the instructions of Pakistan-based operatives.
10-Feb-2026
On February 10, a Bathinda court declared Amritpal Singh Mehron, the main accused in the murder of social media influencer Kanchan Kumari alias Kamal Kaur Bhabhi, a proclaimed offender, in Bathinda district. Kumari’s decomposed body was recovered on June 11, 2026, from a car parked outside Adesh University at Bhucho Kalan on the Bathinda–Chandigarh highway. Mehron, a resident of Moga, allegedly fled to the UAE after committing the crime.
10-Feb-2026
Notorious Rohtak gangster, Sombir alias Motta was arrested by Haryana’s Special Task Force (STF) at Delhi airport on February 10 after being deported from the United States (US). The 39-year-old, a resident of Karor village near Sampla in Rohtak district of Haryana, faces 26 criminal cases, including murder and extortion, across Rohtak, Delhi, and other parts of Haryana. According to the STF, he fled to the US in 2024 using a fake passport obtained with an address in Rajender Nagar, Sahibabad (Ghaziabad), Uttar Pradesh, following which a Red Corner Notice was issued against him.
10-Feb-2026
A migrant labourer, Ashok Kumar, was injured after three bike-borne assailants opened fire at a group of migrant workers in Khosa Jalal village, Moga district on February 10. The attackers, identified as associates of the Davinder Bambiha gang, claimed the shooting was a protest against migrants “spoiling Punjab’s atmosphere” and sarpanches who support them.
10-Feb-2026
On February 10, the second day of the second phase of Punjab Police’s statewide “war on gangsters” (Gangsters Te Vaar) campaign—Operation Prahaar-2—the police conducted 2,706 raids, checked 2,596 individuals, and arrested 1,634 persons, including 53 proclaimed offenders. Preventive action was taken against 534 individuals, while 1,015 persons were verified and released.
10-Feb-2026
On February 10, Punjab Police, on day 346 of its “Yudh Nashian Virudh” campaign, arrested 215 drug smugglers and seized 2.7 kg of heroin, 863 intoxicant tablets/capsules and INR 12,040 drug money from the possession of arrested persons, across the state.
09-Feb-2026
On February 9, the first day of the second phase of Punjab Police’s statewide “war on gangsters” (Gangsters Te Vaar) campaign—Operation Prahaar-2—the police conducted 2,760 raids, checked 1,895 individuals, and arrested 1,250 persons, including 40 proclaimed offenders. Preventive action was taken against 298 individuals, while 666 persons were verified and released.
09-Feb-2026
On February 9, Punjab Police, on day 345 of its “Yudh Nashian Virudh” campaign, arrested 72 drug smugglers and seized 26.4 kg of heroin, 772 intoxicant tablets/capsules and INR 12.17 lakhs drug money from the possession of arrested persons, across the state.
09-Feb-2026
On February 9, nine schools in the national capital received bomb threat emails purportedly sent by the Khalistani outfit Khalistan National Army, triggering immediate action by the Delhi Police and emergency response agencies in New Delhi. The email, in which the sender identified himself as Engineer Guranakh Singh Rukan Shahwala of the Khalistan National Army, contained threats and slogans such as “Delhi will become Khalistan,” “Schoolan vich aaj dhamaka 1:11 pm hovega” (there will be a bomb blast in schools at 1:11 pm), claims that a bomb would explode in Parliament on February 13 at 1:11 pm, and assertions that “Punjab has already become Khalistan” (“Punjab hui Khalistan”). The email also termed Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister (UHM) Amit Shah, and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar as “enemies of Khalistan” (“Modi–Shah–Jaishankar walian de dushman”), the message alleged.
09-Feb-2026
The Amritsar Commissionerate Police on February 9 dismantled a cross-border arms and narcotics smuggling module, arresting five accused and seizing six sophisticated pistols, 10 live cartridges, 115 grams of heroin, and INR 11.90 lakh drug money in Amritsar district. Preliminary investigations revealed that the arrested individuals were actively linked to a cross-border smuggling syndicate involved in the illegal trafficking of arms and narcotics. The module was allegedly facilitating the movement of weapons and drugs into the region.
09-Feb-2026
Police on February 9 arrested a person, identified as Balveer Singh alias Vicky, and seized 4 kg of poppy husk from his possession in Nawanshahr in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district.
09-Feb-2026
Police on February 9 arrested a person, identified as Kulwinder Kumar alias Gaggi, and seized 2.35 grams of heroin from his possession in Rahon in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district.
09-Feb-2026
Police on February 9 arrested one person, identified as Dalbir Singh, and seized 100 intoxicant tablets from him near Subhanpur in Kapurthala district.
09-Feb-2026
Police on February 9 arrested a youth, identified as Mangal Singh, and seized 40 capsules of Pregabalin, a banned psychotropic substance, from him near Sadar Kapurthala in Kapurthala district.
09-Feb-2026
Police on February 9 arrested two persons, identified as Amandeep Singh and Harmanjeet Singh, and seized 10.20 grams of heroin and INR 10,000 in drug money from them at Nijjer Chowk in Kharar, Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar district.
08-Feb-2026
The Amritsar Rural Police, in a joint operation with the Border Security Force (BSF), on February 8 arrested two persons and recovered 25 kg of heroin, two pistols, and 60 live cartridges during a targeted operation in the Ghogha area under the Bhindi Saidan police station in Amritsar district. According to senior police officials, the operation was launched based on specific intelligence inputs regarding a cross-border smuggling attempt. Preliminary investigations suggest that the consignment was smuggled into Indian territory from Pakistan using drones, indicating the involvement of an organised cross-border smuggling module.
08-Feb-2026
The Kapurthala City Police on February 8 arrested two youths, identified as Prince and Virinder Singh, and seized 14 grams of heroin from their possession in Kapurthala district.
08-Feb-2026
Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav on February 8 announced the launch of a 72-hour “Operation Prahar 2.0” against gangsters, beginning February 9. Highlighting the success of the first phase, the DGP said that more than 5,000 gangsters and their associates have been arrested since January 20. During the first phase of the campaign—dubbed ‘Gangster te War’ (war against gangsters)—Punjab Police conducted 17,603 raids across the state, arresting 5,290 individuals, including gangsters and criminals, and recovering 128 weapons. Preventive action was taken against 2,973 persons, while 5,413 individuals were verified and released after questioning. Police also arrested 344 proclaimed offenders (POs), he said. The DGP, however, noted that despite some cases dominating headlines, Punjab’s crime rate per lakh population remains significantly below the national average. “The national average crime rate is 450 per lakh population, while Punjab’s is 227. Similarly, the national average for heinous crimes is 31.2, compared to 21 in Punjab,” he asserted.
08-Feb-2026
Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav on February 8 said that the Punjab Police have made extradition or deportation requests for 38 gangsters operating from different countries. He said the action has been initiated through the Centre under the prescribed legal procedure. The DGP added that these 38 individuals are part of a list of 61 gangsters who have been orchestrating criminal activities in Punjab from abroad, and action is being initiated against the remaining accused as well. “We will arrest wanted gangsters from any corner of the country,” Yadav said after chairing a meeting of senior police officials and district police chiefs.