KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
23-Jan-2026
Classes were disrupted at several schools in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, on January 23 after anonymous emails warning of bomb blasts prompted emergency searches by police and bomb disposal teams; the threats were later confirmed to be hoaxes. The messages reportedly warned against hoisting the national flag on Republic Day, referenced “Khalistan,” and named Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah as “enemies of Khalistan.”
23-Jan-2026
A railway staffer, Anil Sharma, was injured and a freight engine and railway track were damaged in an explosion on a freight corridor near Khanpur village, Sirhind, in Fatehgarh Sahib district on January 23. The blast derailed a goods train, caused minor injuries to the driver, and damaged about 60 feet of track near pole number 1208 between Sirhind and Mandi Gobindgarh, days ahead of Republic Day. Rupnagar Range DIG Nanak Singh ruled out the use of RDX. The damaged track was later repaired and train services restored.
23-Jan-2026
Delhi Police on January 23 registered an FIR against Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) chief Gurpatwant Singh Pannun for allegedly threatening to create unrest in the national capital ahead of Republic Day on January 26. The action followed a video circulated on social media in which Pannun allegedly issued threats targeting Delhi and claimed that pro-Khalistan posters had been pasted in areas such as Rohini and Dabri through sleeper cells. However, after verification and searches, the Special Cell said no such posters were found. Investigations are ongoing to determine the source of the video and the intent behind the claims.
23-Jan-2026
On January 23, Punjab Police, on day 328 of its “Yudh Nashian Virudh” campaign, registered 96 first information reports (FIRs), arrested 170 drug smugglers and seized 485 grams of heroin, 120 kg of poppy husk, 1184 intoxicant tablets/capsules and INR 7400 drug money from the possession of arrested persons, across the state.
23-Jan-2026
The State Special Operations Cell (SSOC), Amritsar, on January 23 arrested a Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) operative, Sharanpreet Singh and seized a P-86 type hand grenade, one 9 mm Glock pistol, five live cartridges, and 65 grams of ICE (methamphetamine) from his possession, in Bundala Morh area in Amritsar district. Preliminary investigations suggest he was acting on the directions of foreign-based BKI operatives Nishan Singh alias Nishan Jaurrian, Adeshbir Singh alias Adesh Jamarai, and Simranjit Singh alias Simma Deol.
23-Jan-2026
Hoshiarpur police, in a joint operation with Counter Intelligence, Jalandhar, on January 23 foiled an imminent attack on a security establishment ahead of Republic Day by arresting four Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) operatives, Diljot Singh Saini, Harman alias Harry, Ajay alias Mehra, and Arshdeep Singh alias Arsh Kandola and seizing a 2.5-kg RDX-based improvised explosive device (IED) and two pistols with cartridges, in Hoshiarpur district. Preliminary investigations revealed that the module was being operated by United States (US)-based BKI handlers and that the recovered IED was intended for a targeted terror attack ahead of Republic Day celebrations.
23-Jan-2026
Police on January 23 arrested a man, identified as Rahul Gill and seized 15 grams of heroin from him Guru Nanakpura Mohalla of Nakodar in Jalandhar district.
23-Jan-2026
The Amritsar rural police on January 23 arrested a drug smuggler, identified as Dilbagh Singh alias Baga and seized 1.523 kg of heroin from his possession, in Galluwal village in Amritsar district.
23-Jan-2026
Police on January 23 arrested one person, identified as Karan Ram alias Alla and seized 15 grams of heroin and five strips of intoxicant tablets from his possession in Kajla, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district.
23-Jan-2026
Police on January 23 arrested two persons, Baljeet Kumar alias Sabi and Prince Kumar and seized 35 intoxicant tablets from them on the Banga–Mahilpur road in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district.
23-Jan-2026
Police on January 23 arrested a man, identified as Sukhmander Singh alias Mikki and seized 30 intoxicant tablets from his possession in Rahon, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district.
23-Jan-2026
Two members of the Himanshu Bhau gang—Vicky alias Mogli, who carried a INR 5,000 reward announced by Haryana Police, and Chander Bhan, wanted in multiple cases including murder, attempt to murder, and extortion—were arrested after an encounter with police in southwest Delhi, New Delhi.
22-Jan-2026
Patna Police on January 23 arrested Lawrence Bishnoi gang operative Parmanand Yadav alias Nepali after an encounter in Patna, Bihar. A day earlier, on January 22, police arrested three other operatives—Neeraj Kumar alias Vicky, Chandan Kumar, and Shivam Anand—in Beur, Bihar, and recovered a country-made revolver, six live cartridges, INR 40,000 in cash, and 5,110 Nepalese rupees. Police said Neeraj Kumar managed the gang’s accounts and financial transactions.
22-Jan-2026
Punjab Police arrested 3,256 individuals linked to drug cartels run by foreign-based gangsters during its three-day campaign against gangsters ‘Operation Prahar,’ which concluded on January 22. Police detained 4,281 people, with 3,256 arrests made after interrogation, including over 80 proclaimed offenders, while more than 25 were placed under preventive custody. The operation led to the seizure of 69 weapons, 6.5 kg of heroin, 10.5 kg of opium, 5,092 intoxicating pills, 72 kg of poppy husk, and INR 2.69 lakh in drug money.
22-Jan-2026
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on January 22 condemned the “trespassing and vandalism” at the Indian embassy in Croatia by “anti-India elements,” asserting that diplomatic premises are inviolable under the Vienna Convention and must be protected. It said the matter was strongly taken up with Croatian authorities in New Delhi and Zagreb, urging them to hold the perpetrators accountable for their illegal actions.
22-Jan-2026
Police on January 22 arrested eight drug peddlers in separate cases and seized 295 intoxicant tablets from them in Hoshiarpur district.
22-Jan-2026
Moga police on January 22 arrested three members of the Bambiha gang, identified as Gurvinder Singh alias Gagna, Jaspreet Singh, and Ekjot Singh and seized four .32-bore country-made pistols with magazines, 15 live .32-bore cartridges, one .30-bore country-made pistol with a magazine, and additional live cartridges in the Ajitwal area of Moga district.
22-Jan-2026
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on January 22 conducted searches at 10 locations in Amritsar, Tarn Taran, and Gurdaspur districts of Punjab in connection with the 2025 Amritsar temple grenade attack case. Mobile phones, digital devices, and documents were seized during the searches. The blast occurred outside the Thakur Dwara Sanatan Temple at Khandwala on Sher Shah Road in Amritsar on March 14, 2025. The NIA probe revealed that the attack was carried out on the directions of foreign-based handlers who were recruiting and funding individuals in India to execute grenade attacks.
22-Jan-2026
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on January 22 arrested three accomplices of a woman held at the airport with narcotics, including the kingpin Shammi and associates Parminder Singh and Rana Pratap, in Amritsar. The arrests followed the seizure of 1.5 kg of heroin from 19-year-old Aarti Kaur, who was intercepted at Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport in Amritsar after arriving from Thailand.
22-Jan-2026
Khanna police on January 22 arrested a youth, identified as Gurmeet Singh and recovered 1 kg of heroin from his possession in the Samrala area in Ludhiana district.
22-Jan-2026
Khanna Police busted an inter-district drug trafficking racket operated from inside a jail in Ludhiana district. Investigations revealed that Sunil Kumar alias Bachhi, a Samrala resident lodged in jail, was running a heroin supply network using an illegal mobile phone, while his family managed the proceeds outside. His mother allegedly handled the drug money, facilitating the racket’s financial operations.
22-Jan-2026
Sources said on January 22 that Pakistan-backed terrorists are planning attacks in India, particularly in Delhi, around Republic Day (January 26), prompting intelligence agencies to issue an alert. The terrorists are reportedly attempting to infiltrate India via Bangladesh to carry out strikes in the national capital. Intelligence inputs also indicated that Gurpatwant Singh Pannun’s Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) is allegedly planning multiple attacks and has used social media to activate sleeper cells in Delhi, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Punjab.
21-Jan-2026
Punjab Police on January 21 arrested two members of a cross-border illegal arms module linked to Pakistan-based smugglers and seized six sophisticated pistols (two Glock and four .30 bore) along with two cartridges, in Amritsar district. The accused were involved in trafficking arms and supplying weapons to gangsters on the directions of foreign handlers.
21-Jan-2026
Police on January 21 arrested three persons, identified as Sartaj Singh, Safalpreet Singh and Sukhchain Singh, and seized 200 grams of heroin and INR 3,150 drug money from them near the railway underpass in Tarn Taran in Tarn Taran district.
21-Jan-2026
Police on January 21 arrested one person and seized 45 grams of heroin, an electronic weighing scale and INR 13,700 drug money from him, in Tarn Taran district.