KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
04-Oct-2025
Punjab’s Anti-Gangster Task Force on October 4 arrested a key associate of fugitive foreign-based gangsters Doni Bal and Munn Ghanshampuria, identified as Gurpreet Singh alias Vicky Nihang, along with a pistol and four live cartridges, following a brief exchange of fire in Ludhiana Rural, Ludhiana district. Singh, who has a criminal record, was wanted in connection with the August 23, 2025, murder of social media influencer Kartik Baggan in Ludhiana.
04-Oct-2025
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on October 4 filed a chargesheet in a Chandigarh court against four individuals, including Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) operatives, for their alleged involvement in a grenade attack on former Punjab minister Manoranjan Kalia’s residence in Jalandhar on April 7, 2025. The chargesheet named two arrested accused, Saidul Ameen of Amroha, Uttar Pradesh, and Abhijot Jangra of Kurukshetra, Haryana, and two absconders, Kulbir Singh Sidhu of Yamunanagar and Manish alias Kaka Rana of Karnal, Haryana. According to the NIA, Sidhu, a BKI operative, and his associate Manish formed a terror gang to target prominent Punjab leaders, create a climate of fear, and raise funds for the BKI through extortion.
04-Oct-2025
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on October 4 filed a chargesheet in a special NIA court in Mohali against 11 accused in connection with the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI)-orchestrated terror attack on the Qila Lal Singh police station in Batala, Gurdaspur district, Punjab, on April 6, 2025. Another 11 accused in the case remain absconding. Foreign-based BKI handlers, Harpreet Singh alias Happy Passia, Mannu Agwan, and Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi Navasherian, had publicly claimed responsibility for the rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) attack. According to the NIA, the conspiracy was directed by foreign-based terror operatives who exploited family ties and other vulnerabilities, using social media platforms to radicalize and recruit vulnerable youth from Punjab to carry out terrorist acts against India.
04-Oct-2025
On October 4, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a chargesheet against accused in the September 11, 2024, grenade attack in Chandigarh’s Sector 10, orchestrated by foreign-based Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorists. Abhijot Singh alias Babba alias Gopi, a Punjab resident arrested in April 2025 for his involvement in the attack, has been formally charge sheeted. Pakistan-based BKI terrorist Harwinder Singh alias Rinda and US-based gangster Happy Passia were charge sheeted as absconders, along with two previously arrested accused, Rohan Masih and Vishal Masih, in March 2024. According to the NIA, the conspiracy was directed by Rinda in collusion with Passia.
04-Oct-2025
Police on October 4 busted a cross-border arms smuggling module by arresting two individuals, identified as Ravi Singh and Sandeep Kumar, and seizing two 9 mm pistols with three cartridges, in Ferozepur district. Police stated that the accused received arms consignments sent across the border via drones and distributed them among local contacts.
04-Oct-2025
Amritsar Rural Police on October 4 arrested two drug peddlers, identified as Kuldeep Singh and Abhideep Singh and seized 1.596 kg of heroin, an electronic weighing machine, and a motorcycle from their possession, in Mehta, Amritsar district.
04-Oct-2025
Police on October 4 arrested two drug peddlers, identified as Gagandeep Singh alias Gazni and Sunny Singh alias Nanni and seized 100 grams of heroin, two .30 bore pistols, four live cartridges, and INR 1,000 drug money from them, in Amarkot, Amritsar district.
04-Oct-2025
Police on October 4 arrested three drug peddlers, identified as Ramandeep Singh alias Ramni, Pinder Singh and Shavinder Singh and seized 863 grams of ICE (crystal methamphetamine) drug and two mobile phones, in Gulam Hussain village in Ferozepur district.
04-Oct-2025
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), on October 4, filed its fifth chargesheet before the NIA Special Court, Patiala House, Delhi, against the 22nd accused in the 2022 Lawrence Bishnoi gang and Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terror-gangster nexus case (RC-39/2022/NIA/DLI). The case pertains to a terror conspiracy hatched by the Lawrence Bishnoi gang in collaboration with the BKI to spread terrorism across India. According to the chargesheet, accused Rahul Sarkar facilitated members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang in carrying out terror activities in India and assisted them in fleeing the country by preparing and arranging forged identity documents, including Aadhaar cards, voter IDs, and bank passbooks. Of the 22 accused in the case, 18, including Rahul, have been arrested, while four remain absconding.
03-Oct-2025
Police arrested three members of the Jaggu Bhagwanpuria gang, identified as Navraj Singh alias Noor, Dalwinder Singh alias Billi, and Shubhdeep Singh alias Shubh, in connection with the September 25, 2025, murder of convict Dharmjit Singh alias Dharma in Amritsar district. Navraj was arrested on October 3, while Dalwinder and Shubhdeep were apprehended on October 4. According to police, none of the accused had any prior criminal record. Authorities have also identified their foreign-based handler, though the main three shooters in the case remain at large.
03-Oct-2025
According to security personnel, Gurpreet Singh, a 19-year-old law student from Jeeda village in Bathinda district, who was jailed for assembling explosives in his grandmother’s room on September 10, had planned to carry out a lone-wolf attack on a defence establishment in Kathua, Jammu and Kashmir. Investigators stated that he had no handler or links to any terror organization, and was believed to have been radicalized through extremist Islamic content on social media.
03-Oct-2025
The Special Cell of Delhi Police on October 3 arrested two members of the fugitive Rohit Godara gang, identified as Akash Rajput and Mahipal, following an exchange of fire in Southwest Delhi. Police stated that both had allied with Rohit Godara’s syndicate to continue criminal activities in the city after key gang shooters were arrested. Rajput has a long criminal record across Haryana, Rajasthan, and Gujarat and was allegedly involved in a July 2022 firing outside a hospital in Asandh, Karnal, Haryana, carried out at the behest of Canada-based gangster Daler Kotia.
03-Oct-2025
On October 3, Punjab Police, on day 216 of its “Yudh Nashian Virudh” campaign, registered 45 first information reports (FIRs), arrested 47 drug smugglers and seized 2.3 kg of heroin, 3.1 kg of opium, 25 kg poppy husk, 1584 intoxicant tablets/capsules and INR 3250 drug money from the possession of arrested persons, across the state.
03-Oct-2025
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, stated on October 3 that India and Canada have agreed to strengthen security cooperation, including intelligence sharing and measures to combat transnational crime, following Ottawa’s decision to designate the Lawrence Bishnoi gang as a terrorist entity. He added that National Security Adviser Ajit Doval held “productive discussions” with Canada’s National Security and Intelligence Adviser, Nathalie Drouin, in New Delhi on September 18 to further enhance bilateral security cooperation.
03-Oct-2025
Police on October 3 arrested two individuals, identified as Sukhdev Singh alias Mattu and Sahil Kumar alias Mast and seized 1 kg of heroin along with INR 10,000 in drug money from their possession, in Gate Hakima, Amritsar district.
03-Oct-2025
Police on October 3 arrested two youths, identified as Vakeel Kumar and Sipur Kumar and seized two .32-bore pistols with live cartridges from their possession, near Dana Mandi, Bhagtanwala, in Amritsar district.
03-Oct-2025
Punjab police on October 3 arrested a person, identified as Ravinder Singh alias Ravi, who was allegedly in contact with agents of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), along with two hand-grenades in Amritsar district. Preliminary investigation indicate that he was in contact with ISI agents and had received the consignment from across the border.
02-Oct-2025
The Intelligence Wing of Punjab Police on October 2 arrested three individuals, including a former Army commando identified as Dharmendra and seized four hand grenades, in Gurdaspur district. Sources indicated that the grenades were believed to have been smuggled across the border, suggesting potential cross-border involvement in planning attacks during the upcoming festive season.
02-Oct-2025
Maharashtra Police on October 2 conducted a major operation against the Bishnoi gang, arresting 13 members following a brief encounter at a hideout in Amravati, Maharashtra. During the raid, the suspects reportedly opened fire, prompting police to retaliate. The detained individuals are currently being questioned.
02-Oct-2025
The Border Security Force (BSF) and Punjab Police, in a joint operation on October 2, arrested two persons and recovered two pistols along with magazines from the backyard of a house in Gendhu Kilcha village in Ferozepur district.
02-Oct-2025
On October 2, Punjab Police, on day 215 of its “Yudh Nashian Virudh” campaign, registered 60 first information reports (FIRs), arrested 78 drug smugglers and seized 4 kg of heroin, 500 grams of opium, 842 intoxicant tablets/capsules and INR 2.13 lakh drug money from the possession of arrested persons, across the state.
02-Oct-2025
Delhi Police Special Cell on October 2 arrested two members of the Rohit Godara–Goldy Brar–Virender Charan gang, identified as Rahul and Sahil Kumar, after a brief exchange of fire on the Jaitpur–Kalindi Kunj Road in New Delhi. The duo had allegedly been tasked with assassinating comedian Munawar Faruqui.
02-Oct-2025
According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2023 report, Punjab recorded more cases of narcotics trafficking than consumption, highlighting its role as a major transit hub. The state topped the country with the highest proportion of drug smuggling cases—25.3 per lakh population—while drug use cases stood at 12.4 per lakh, underscoring a clear tilt toward trafficking rather than consumption. Punjab also reported the highest number of drug overdose deaths in India for the second consecutive year, with 89 fatalities, though down from 144 in 2022. In absolute terms, Punjab lodged 11,589 NDPS cases in 2023, ranking third after Kerala (30,697) and Maharashtra (15,610). However, most cases in these southern states were linked to consumption, unlike Punjab, where its border with Pakistan positions it as a primary corridor for narcotics smuggling. Drugs, especially heroin, are funneled from Afghanistan through Pakistan into Punjab before being distributed to other states.
02-Oct-2025
Amritsar Police on October 2 arrested five persons, including a juvenile, identified as Jovan Singh, Karandeep, Ajaypal Singh, and Jaspreet Singh, and seized 12 brand-new .30 bore pistols—smuggled via drone—along with 1.5 kg of heroin in Amritsar district. Police said the arms-and-drugs syndicate was being run by smugglers in Pakistan and handlers based in Europe, while preliminary inquiries indicated that organized crime gangs had placed the orders for these weapons.
02-Oct-2025
Faridkot Police on October 2 arrested two drug smugglers and seized 12.1 kg of heroin in Jhariwala village in Faridkot district. According to police, the consignment had been smuggled from Pakistan using a drone.