KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
28-May-2026
Slain Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala’s father, Balkaur Singh, on May 28 alleged in Mansa that he continued to face systemic harassment by the Punjab Police even as the masterminds behind his son’s murder remained beyond the reach of the law. He said that despite the passage of time since the singer’s daylight killing on May 29, 2022, justice remained elusive for the family. Balkaur Singh further alleged that while police had arrested local shooters and named known gangsters, the larger political and financial conspiracy behind the murder was deliberately being shielded.
27-May-2026
Four terrorists linked to a terror module allegedly backed by Pakistan-based gangsters Shahzad Bhatti and Abid Jatt, identified as Mehkab, Gagandeep Singh alias Guri, Shahrukh, and Musharraf were arrested by the Uttar Pradesh ATS and Special Task Force in Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh on May 27. The accused had allegedly planned major attacks across Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Punjab. According to investigators, the module had conducted reconnaissance of crowded hospitals, a political party office, and a school operator as potential targets. Mehkab and Gagandeep Singh had allegedly surveyed the locations, while Shahrukh and Musharraf were reportedly searching social media platforms for methods to carry out hospital blasts. Investigators further revealed that videos, photographs, and latitude-longitude coordinates of targets in Delhi and Punjab were allegedly shared with Pakistan-based gangster Shahzad Bhatti. The UP ATS stated that the attacks were to be executed after weapons and explosives were procured through Bhatti’s network. The agency also alleged that Bhatti was attempting to orchestrate targeted killings across Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Punjab.
27-May-2026
On May 27, the 127th day of Punjab Police’s statewide “war on gangsters” (Gangstran Te Vaar) campaign—Operation Prahar— the police conducted 369 raids, arrested 118 persons and recovered nine weapons from their possession. Preventive action was taken against 88 individuals, while 12 persons were verified and released after questioning.
27-May-2026
On May 27, Punjab Police, on day 452 of its “Yudh Nashian Virudh” campaign, arrested 16 drug smugglers, and seized 3.5 kg of heroin and INR 64,500 drug money from the possession of arrested persons, across the state.
27-May-2026
The Amritsar Police on May 27 busted an illegal arms smuggling module with cross-border links, arresting five accused and recovering eight sophisticated pistols and live cartridges, in Chheharta, Amritsar district. Preliminary investigations revealed that the accused were in contact with a foreign-based smuggler through virtual numbers and encrypted communication platforms. Police suspect the module was receiving weapons and narcotics consignments dropped by drones from across the border for distribution among criminal networks in Punjab.
27-May-2026
On May 27, three days after the killing of Punjab Police Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Joga Singh by unidentified armed assailants in Amritsar district on May 24, a video purportedly released by the little-known outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Hindustan (TTH) surfaced on social media, showing motorcycle-borne assailants shooting the police officer. The footage closely matched images circulated earlier in a poster claiming responsibility for the attack. Issued hours after the killing, the poster, attributed to the TTH, also carried fresh threats against security personnel and government officials.
27-May-2026
According to reports, following the recovery of 5.1 kg of heroin from Punjabi singer Harbir Singh Sohal on May 25, the Khanna Police in Ludhiana district are preparing to dismantle an international drug syndicate allegedly operating from Australia and Canada. Investigators believe Sohal’s arrest could help identify other associates involved in drug trafficking across Khanna and surrounding areas of Ludhiana district.
26-May-2026
All five accused involved in installing a spy camera near the Sujanpur bus stand in Hamirpur district, Himachal Pradesh, to monitor the movement of Army and paramilitary convoys along the strategic Jammu-Pathankot National Highway have been booked under the Official Secrets Act and Section 113 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which pertains to terrorist acts and carries the death penalty. Police sources said a mobile phone destroyed by the accused allegedly contained sensitive information and contact numbers of international smugglers reportedly backed by Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
26-May-2026
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a chargesheet before the Special NIA Court in Panchkula against nine accused, including two Pakistani nationals, in connection with the November 25, 2025 grenade attack on the women police station in Sirsa, Haryana. The chargesheet named Pakistan-based handlers Shahzad Bhatti and Sohail Ahmad alias Sohail Baloch, along with arrested Indian nationals Dheeraj alias Dhiru, Vikas alias Vikky, Sandeep alias Daimar, Vikas, Sushil alias Sillu, Md. Sijaan alias Ghazi, and Gurjant Singh. According to the NIA, the attack was part of a conspiracy orchestrated by Pakistani gangster-turned-terrorist Shahzad Bhatti to spread terror by targeting police establishments and personnel in India. Investigations further revealed that Shahzad and Sohail had allegedly recruited and radicalised the arrested accused through social media platforms and encrypted communication channels.
26-May-2026
On May 26, the 126th day of Punjab Police’s statewide “war on gangsters” (Gangstran Te Vaar) campaign—Operation Prahar— the police conducted 509 raids, arrested 229 persons and recovered 10 weapons from their possession. Preventive action was taken against 104 individuals, while 10 persons were verified and released after questioning. Three proclaimed offenders (POs) were also arrested during the operation.
26-May-2026
On May 26, Punjab Police, on day 451 of its “Yudh Nashian Virudh” campaign, arrested 25 drug smugglers, and seized 513 grams of heroin and INR 20,200 drug money from the possession of arrested persons, across the state.
26-May-2026
The Counter Intelligence (CI) unit in Ferozepur on May 26 busted a cross-border illegal arms trafficking module with the arrest of alleged weapon supplier, Lakhwinder Singh along with five .30 bore Glock pistols and four live cartridges in Ferozepur district. Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said the accused had a criminal background and was released from jail a month ago. Preliminary investigations revealed that the weapons were allegedly smuggled into India through cross-border channels for further distribution through the network. The DGP added that investigations were under way to trace the module’s forward and backward linkages and identify all those associated with it.
25-May-2026
Punjab Police on May 25 arrested two workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), identified as Gurpreet Singh and Harbhajan Singh Dargan and recovered 32.5 grams of opium and INR 40,600 in cash allegedly being distributed during the civic body elections, in Arniwala area of Fazilka district.
25-May-2026
On May 25, the 125th day of Punjab Police’s statewide “war on gangsters” (Gangstran Te Vaar) campaign—Operation Prahar— the police conducted 519 raids, arrested 258 persons and recovered nine weapons from their possession. Preventive action was taken against 92 individuals, while 22 persons were verified and released after questioning.
25-May-2026
On May 25, Punjab Police, on day 450 of its “Yudh Nashian Virudh” campaign, arrested 50 drug smugglers, and seized 1.5 kg of heroin, 580 intoxicant tablets/capsules and INR 1050 drug money from the possession of arrested persons, across the state.
25-May-2026
Punjab Police on May 25 arrested Punjabi singer Harbir Singh Sohal and recovered 5.1 kg of heroin, INR 150,000 in alleged drug money, and a Mahindra Thar from his possession, in Ludhiana district. Sohal was reportedly a close associate of slain gangster Jaipal Bhullar. In 2022, he was arrested by Mohali police in connection with illegal weapons possession and an extortion racket allegedly operated at the behest of foreign-based handlers. Khanna Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Darpan Ahluwalia said the breakthrough came during investigations into backward and forward linkages in a drug trafficking case registered by Doraha police on March 7.
25-May-2026
Punjab Police on May 25 arrested an accused, identified as Lovepreet Singh alias Akashpreet Singh and recovered two hand grenades, detonators and a pistol from his possession, in the Chatiwind police station area of Amritsar district. During preliminary interrogation, the accused allegedly disclosed that the consignment had been dropped inside Indian territory in the Attari sector by Pakistan-based smugglers using a drone a few days earlier. Police officials said the grenades were allegedly intended to be used in attacks on police establishments.
25-May-2026
Border Security Force (BSF) and Punjab Police on May 25 recovered 20 packets containing 10.950 kg of heroin from the Jalalabad area of Fazilka district. According to official sources, farmer Teja Ram, accompanied by a BSF jawan, had gone beyond the border fencing near Prabhat Singh Wala village in the Jalalabad subdivision for crop management work when they spotted a white bag lying in the field of another farmer, Mahavir Prasad, near the Indo-Pak international border.
25-May-2026
An email threatening to blow up the residence of Punjabi singer Diljit Dosanjh in Ludhiana was received on May 25, allegedly from a group calling itself the “Khalistan National Party.” The threat email was sent to the official email address of the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation and also contained threats targeting the Ludhiana Mayor’s residence and office. According to the email, the Mayor’s house would be attacked by 1:11 pm, while Dosanjh’s residence was allegedly threatened to be blown up by 9:11 pm. However, it is learnt that Diljit Dosanjh does not currently reside at the property.
25-May-2026
Rumours of a firing incident outside the residence of Bollywood actor-comedian Kapil Sharma in Amritsar district spread rapidly on May 25, prompting the Commissionerate Police to issue a clarification denying the reports. The rumours gained traction on social media amid references to multiple shooting incidents over the past year targeting Kap Sharma’s Canada-based Kap’s Café.
24-May-2026
On May 24, the Kapurthala Police registered an FIR against 31 inmates for rioting and vandalism at the Central Jail in Kapurthala district on May 23. Two mobile phones, along with several iron rods and sticks, were seized from the prisoners. The accused were booked on charges including attempt to murder, arson, rioting, obstructing public servants from performing their duties, live transmission of objectionable content, and criminal conspiracy. The inmates allegedly damaged jail property, set items on fire, and livestreamed the unrest, which continued until the morning of May 24. Police used tear gas shells to bring the situation under control and force the rioters back into their barracks.
24-May-2026
On May 24, the 124th day of Punjab Police’s statewide “war on gangsters” (Gangstran Te Vaar) campaign—Operation Prahar— the police conducted 529 raids, arrested 269 persons and recovered two weapons from their possession. Preventive action was taken against 100 individuals, while 16 persons were verified and released after questioning. 11 proclaimed offenders (POs) were also arrested during the operation.
24-May-2026
On May 24, Punjab Police, on day 449 of its “Yudh Nashian Virudh” campaign, arrested 72 drug smugglers, and seized 30.6 kg of heroin, 271 intoxicant tablets/capsules and INR 4200 drug money from the possession of arrested persons, across the state.
24-May-2026
Unidentified armed assailants shot dead a Punjab Police Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI), identified as Joga Singh, while he was on his way to duty on the Fatehgarh Churian–Majitha road in Amritsar district on May 24. Singh, who was posted in the Traffic Wing of the Amritsar Police Commissionerate, was travelling to Amritsar on his scooter around 6 am when two unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants intercepted him about a kilometer before Majitha and opened fire at close range. He sustained bullet injuries to the chest and waist and died on the spot, while the attackers fled after the shooting.
24-May-2026
Hours after the murder of Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Joga Singh in the Majitha area, a poster attributed to the obscure outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Hindustan surfaced on social media, claiming responsibility for the killing and issuing fresh threats against security personnel and government officials, on May 24 evening. The group also claimed that a video related to the attack would soon be released online. Notably, the same organisation had earlier claimed responsibility for the killing of two policemen in the Dorangla area of Gurdaspur earlier this year, raising concerns among security agencies. However, the authenticity of the poster has not yet been verified.