KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
03-Sep-2025
Kapurthala Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Gaurav Toora recently revealed that between January 1 and August 31, 2025, the district police registered 730 cases and arrested 861 accused in their intensified crackdown on drugs. The operations led to the recovery of over include 9.19 kg of heroin, 6.91 kg of opium, 234.3 kg of poppy husk, 516 poppy plants, 1.07 kg of intoxicant powder, 1 kg of ganja, 14 grams of ICE, and 63,676 intoxicating tablets. In addition, the police seized INR 6.72 lakh in drug money from traffickers and peddlers.
03-Sep-2025
On September 3, Punjab Police, on day 186 of its “Yudh Nashian Virudh” campaign, registered 56 first information reports (FIRs), arrested 83 drug smugglers and seized 631 grams of heroin, 6082 intoxicant tablets/capsules and INR 1000 drug money from the possession of arrested drug smugglers. With this, the number of total drug smugglers arrested has reached to 28,142 in 186 days.
03-Sep-2025
On September 3, Gurmel Singh, president of the Patti block of the Congress party, was shot dead by armed assailants in Tarn Taran district. Gangsters Doni Bal, Prabh Dasuwal, Afridi Tut, and Kaushal Chowdhury later claimed responsibility in a social media post, alleging that Singh was a police informer who had provided information leading to Afridi’s arrest and was preparing to share more with their rivals.
03-Sep-2025
A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Mohali on September 3 issued open-ended non-bailable warrants against former Punjab Police Assistant Inspector General (AIG) Jagdip Singh, who has been declared a proclaimed offender in two disappearance cases. He is accused in the 1992 kidnapping and disappearance of Mohinder Kaur, mother of Khalistan Commando Force (KCF) chief Paramjit Singh Panjwar, and in the 1999 disappearance of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) employee Aroor Singh, for which seven people were charge sheeted. A lookout circular was issued against him in 2021.
02-Sep-2025
Former member of the banned Khalistani outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), Gurpreet Singh Nihang, in a recent interview with 5WH, revealed that he quit the organisation after nearly two decades, sharply criticising its leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun for ego-driven leadership, lack of transparency, and betraying the original spirit of the movement. Nihang accused Pannun of abandoning core Khalsa values, inflating claims about the Khalistan referendum, and running the outfit in a self-serving manner while disregarding the risks faced by others. He emphasised that for him, Sikhi and Khalsa traditions held far greater significance than Pannun’s hollow pursuit of Khalistan.
02-Sep-2025
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (UMHA) on September 2 announced that members of minority communities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians, who entered India on or before December 31, 2024, to escape religious persecution, will be allowed to stay in the country without passports or other valid travel documents. The order, issued under the newly enforced Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, provides relief but does not guarantee citizenship.
02-Sep-2025
Punjab Police on September 2 unearthed a terror module linked to Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and arrested three men from Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) who were involved in a cab driver’s murder case, identified as Sahil Bashir, Bashir’s brother Aijaz Ahmed Khan, alias Wasim and Munish Singh, alias Ansh, and seized a .32 bore pistol and a car from their possession, in Mohali in Sahibzada Ajit Singh (SAS) Nagar district in Punjab.
02-Sep-2025
On September 2, Punjab Police, on day 185 of its “Yudh Nashian Virudh” campaign, registered 64 first information reports (FIRs), arrested 95 drug smugglers and seized 433 grams of heroin, 29 kg of poppy husk, 910 intoxicant tablets or capsules, and INR 3.5 lakh in drug money from the possession of arrested drug smugglers across Punjab.
02-Sep-2025
Patiala cyber cell on September 2 arrested four members of a local gang linked to an international cyber fraud racket operating in Philippines, identified as Pankaj, Arshdeep, and Manga Singh along with one unidentified person, in Patiala in Patiala district. Police said the gang supplied bank accounts and SIM cards to fraudsters abroad, facilitating scams worth over INR 40 crore.
02-Sep-2025
Sri Mukhtsar Sahib Police on September 2 arrested two associates of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, identified as Gurdeep Singh, and Gursewak Singh alias Mota, and seized four .32 bore country-made pistols and one .30 bore country-made pistol, along with 10 magazines from their possession, in Sri Mukhtsar Sahib district. Preliminary investigations linked them to wanted gangsters Harjot Singh alias Neela and Jagdeep Singh alias Jagga.
02-Sep-2025
Since March 1, Punjab Police’s anti-drug campaign ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’ has led to the registration of 17,957 First Information Reports (FIRs), the arrest of 27,796 drug smugglers, and the recovery of 1,129 kg of heroin, 384 kg of opium, 232 quintals of poppy husk, 29 kg of charas, 430 kg of ganja, 6.3 kg of ICE (crystal meth), 33 lakh intoxicant pills/tablets, and INR 12.44 crore in drug money. The six-month drive, launched under the direction of Chief Minister (CM) Bhagwant Singh Mann, combines enforcement, de-addiction, and preventive measures with the aim of making Punjab drug-free.
01-Sep-2025
On September 1, the Delhi High Court granted the trial court handling the 1984 anti-Sikh riots cases four weeks to submit its report on reconstructing decades-old records concerning the acquittal of five men, including former Congress councillor Balwan Khokhar, in the killing of four Sikhs in Ghaziabad’s Raj Nagar. The bench observed that the victims’ and society’s right to a fair trial could not be undermined by missing files or flawed proceedings, and set October 10 as the next hearing date.
01-Sep-2025
According to sources in the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), the interrogation of international gangster Sunil Kumar Meena alias Mayank Singh, revealed that sophisticated arms used by the Aman Sahu gang in Jharkhand were smuggled from Pakistan via Punjab. These weapons were linked to several extortion-related crimes, including the March attack on coal trader Bipin Mishra in Ranchi, Jharkhand.
31-Aug-2025
On August 31, a lab technician at SR Government College for Girls, identified as Ashutosh Mahajan, was shot dead by two bike-borne masked assailants near Batala Road in Amritsar district. Police stated that CCTV footage and call records are being examined, while gangster Hari Boxer of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang later claimed responsibility on social media.
31-Aug-2025
Counter Intelligence (CI) Pathankot, CI Ludhiana, and the State Special Operations Cell (SSOC) Amritsar, in a joint operation, on August 31, busted a Babbar Khalsa International (BKI)-backed terror module by arresting two operatives, identified as Sarwan Kumar and Balwinder Singh and seizing an Arges hand grenade, a .30 bore star-mark pistol, and three live cartridges, in Pathankot district.
31-Aug-2025
Border Security Forces (BSF) troops on August 31 arrested a smuggler, identified as Sonu, and seized 14 packets of heroin weighing about 7.995 kg, near a naka (checkpoint) near Hazarawala village in Ferozepur district.
31-Aug-2025
Jalandhar police on August 31 arrested one drug smuggler, identified as Manjit Singh and seized 3.5 kg of heroin along with INR 2 lakhs in drug money from his possession in Jalandhar in Jalandhar district.
31-Aug-2025
On August 31, Punjab Police, on day 183 of its “Yudh Nashian Virudh” campaign, registered 46 first information reports (FIRs), arrested 68 drug smugglers and seized 3.9 kg of heroin, 2.5 kg of opium, 962 intoxicant tablets/capsules and INR 2 lakh drug money from the possession of arrested drug smugglers, across Punjab. With this, the number of total drug smugglers arrested has reached to 27,787 in 183 days.
31-Aug-2025
According to reports, Khalistani radical and jailed Khadoor Sahib Member of Parliament (MP) Amritpal Singh and his party, Shiromani Akali Dal Waris Punjab De (SAD-WPD), mobilized over 200 volunteers in flood-hit Sultanpur Lodhi and Tarn Taran to carry out relief efforts. The teams set up temporary godowns, distributed dry rations, medicines, and fodder, and arranged boats to reach marooned villagers, with banners displaying Amritpal’s images marking their presence.
30-Aug-2025
Amritsar City Police Commissionerate on August 30 foiled a major target killing plot with the arrest of five Landa Harike gang members, identified as Karandeep Singh alias Karan, Gursewak Singh alias Balli, Arshdeep Singh, Amritpal Singh and a juvenile, and seized a Glock pistol, 13 live cartridges, and two empty shells, in Amritsar in Amritsar district. Police said the accused were acting on instructions from foreign-based handlers who had provided weapons and logistical support.
30-Aug-2025
On August 30, Punjab Police, on day 182 of its “Yudh Nashian Virudh” campaign, registered 53 first information reports (FIRs), arrested 65 drug smugglers and seized 1.2 kg of heroin, 650 grams of opium, 150 intoxicant tablets/capsules and INR 600 drug money from the possession of arrested drug smugglers across Punjab. With this, the number of total drug smugglers arrested has reached to 27,663 in 182 days.
30-Aug-2025
Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) of the Punjab police on August 30 arrested a shooter involved a recent jeweller attack case, identified as Jagroshan Singh in Chandigarh. Police said he acted on the directions of foreign-based gangster Lakhbir Singh alias Landa, and further investigation is underway to trace the network.
29-Aug-2025
Border Security Force (BSF) in a joint operation with the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF), Amritsar, on August 29, arrested one unidentified person and seized 1 kg of heroin and a motorcycle from his possession in Amritsar district.
29-Aug-2025
Border Security Force (BSF) troops on August 29 recovered a drone carrying 2 kg of heroin alongside a pistol with its magazine, in Amritsar district.
29-Aug-2025
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Chandigarh on August 29 issued an open-dated non-bailable warrant against Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist Shamsher Singh alias Shera in connection with the Sector 10 grenade attack case. The court acted after the National Investigation Agency presented evidence linking him to the conspiracy, including financing and facilitating reconnaissance. Singh, absconding for the past two to three years, is accused of working with United States (US) based Harpreet Singh alias Happy Passia and Pakistan-based Harwinder Singh Rinda, named as the masterminds behind the attack.