KHALISTAN EXTREMISM MONITOR
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
A project of the Institute for Conflict Management
21-Jul-2025
Police on July 21 arrested two individuals, identified as Viney Kumar alias Mithu and Major Singh, and seized 1 kg of heroin, 2 illegal pistols and two cartridges from their possession, near Kot Kalan village in Jalandhar district. Viney Kumar was apprehended first, and subsequent interrogation revealed Major Singh’s involvement in the case.
21-Jul-2025
Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav on July 21 announced that under the ongoing anti-drugs campaign ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh,’ the ‘Safe Punjab’ WhatsApp Chatbot (9779100200) achieved a 30% tip conversion rate, resulting in 3,671 First Information Reports (FIRs) and 4,872 arrests, chairing a state-level Law & Order meeting at the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Punjab Police Academy (MRS-PPA) in Phillaur, Jalandhar district. Since March 1, 2025, Punjab Police have registered 14,281 FIRs, arrested 22,772 drug smugglers, and seized 940 kg of heroin, 337 kg of opium, 18 tonnes of poppy husk, 14 kg of charas, 325 kg of ganja, 6 kg of ICE, 3.3 kg of cocaine, 29.63 lakh intoxicant tablets, and INR 11.84 crore in drug money across the state.
21-Jul-2025
On July 21, Punjab Police, on day 142 of “Yudh Nashian Virudh” campaign, registered 66 first information reports (FIRs), arrested 82 drug smugglers and seized 2.9 kg of heroin and INR 21,530 drug money from their possession, across Punjab.
21-Jul-2025
On July 21, Amritsar’s Sri Guru Ram Dass Ji International Airport received a bomb threat via a phone call from an unidentified individual. Punjab Police and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) promptly secured the premises, deployed a bomb disposal squad, and intensified surveillance measures.
21-Jul-2025
According to sources, women are playing an increasingly central role in Punjab’s drug trade, with alarming data pointing to a surge in female involvement. In Gurdaspur Central Jail, 95 out of 106 women inmates face charges under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, while in Ludhiana jail, over 90 percent of the 270-odd female inmates are jailed on drug-related offences. Officials say women have moved from peripheral roles, like packaging drugs, to independently managing drug supply chains, often stepping in after intensified crackdowns under the “Yudh Nashian Virudh”” campaign sidelined male smugglers.
21-Jul-2025
The Mohali police arrested Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) operative Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi along with a weapon on July 21 following an encounter in Mohali, Sahibzada Ajit Singh (SAS) Nagar district. Gopi, wanted in an extortion case involving a demand of INR 2 crore from a realtor in Sector 82, opened fire on the police before being injured in retaliatory firing.
20-Jul-2025
According to a report in The Print, Gurpreet Singh alias Babbu, currently lodged in Patiala district jail, was the mastermind behind the grenade attacks on police posts in Patiala, Punjab, and Kaithal, Haryana. The attacks were orchestrated on the instructions of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) operative Gopi Nawasherian. On July 20, Punjab Police arrested three operatives of the Khalistani terror outfit BKI—Sandeep Singh alias Deepu, Harpreet Singh alias Jagga, and Harmanpreet Singh alias Preet—in Mohali, Sahibzada Ajit Singh (SAS) Nagar district. Two hand grenades and two pistols were recovered from their possession. The accused were reportedly lured by financial incentives ranging from INR 10,000 to INR 4 lakh. The module had links to BKI handlers Happy Passia and Gopi Nawasherian and was allegedly planning further attacks on police establishments.
20-Jul-2025
According to sources, Punjab’s jails are housing a record 38,000 inmates, far exceeding the official capacity of 26,556, with 44 per cent of undertrials booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, many of them confirmed addicts. Under the ongoing “Yudh Nashian Virudh” campaign, 22,626 people have been arrested in just 140 days, contributing to the overcrowding. To address rising drug dependency among inmates, the government is establishing Drug De-addiction-cum-Rehabilitation Centres in 10 central jails. OOAT (Outpatient Opioid Assisted Treatment) is already active in 17 prisons, with over one lakh inmates treated using buprenorphine.
20-Jul-2025
Lopoke Police on July 20 arrested a drug peddler, identified as Gurwinder Singh, and seized 490 grams of heroin from his possession near Lopoke village in Amritsar district. Preliminary investigation suggests the contraband was smuggled from Pakistan, and further probe is underway to trace his backward and forward linkages.
20-Jul-2025
Rajasthan Police released a fresh list of 25 most wanted active criminals, including several linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. The list features individuals wanted for serious offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Arms Act, and Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Notable names include Rohit Godara, Mahendra alias Sameer Meghwal, Virendra Singh Charan, Satvinder alias Goldy Brar, Anmol alias Bhanu, Sunil Kalu Meena, and Ajay Singh alias Ajju Bana, with cash rewards ranging from INR 50,000 to INR 5 lakh announced by the Rajasthan Police and the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
20-Jul-2025
On July 20, Punjab Police, on day 141 of its “Yudh Nashian Virudh” campaign conducted a special operation ‘OPS Seal-XVII’, during which they checked 2380 vehicles at 92 checkpoints, registered 9 first information reports (FIR) and arrested 10 persons across 10 border districts namely Pathankot, Sri Muktsar Sahib, Fazilka, Rupanagar, Sahibzada Ajit Singh (SAS) Nagar, Patiala, Sangrur, Mansa, Hoshiarpur and Bathinda, in Punjab.
20-Jul-2025
On July 20, Punjab Police, on day 141 of its “Yudh Nashian Virudh” campaign, registered 75 first information reports (FIRs), arrested 110 drug smugglers and seized 1.4 kg of heroin and 15 kg of poppy husk from their possession, across Punjab. With this, the number of total drug smugglers arrested has reached to 22,764.
20-Jul-2025
Border Security Force (BSF) troops on July 20 recovered one packet containing the upper body of a pistol and four magazines, near Wan village in Patti tehsil in Tarn Taran district.
20-Jul-2025
Border Security Force (BSF), in a joint operation with Punjab Police on July 20 recovered one large packet of heroin weighing 3.700 kg and a drone, from fields near Shekhpura village in Tarn Taran district. The recovered drone was a DJI Matrice 300 RTK model.
20-Jul-2025
Punjab Police on July 20 arrested three unidentified operatives of the Khalistani terror outfit Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), and seized two hand grenades and two pistols from their possession, in Mohali in Sahibzada Ajit Singh (SAS) Nagar district. The operatives were arrested in relation to their involvement in grenade attacks on police posts at Badshahpur in Patiala in Punjab on April 1, 2025, and Azeemgarh in Haryana on April 6, 2025. The Police revealed that the trio acted on instructions from foreign-based BKI handlers Greece based Manu Agwan and Malaysia based Maninder Billa, under the direction of Pakistan based terrorist Harwinder Singh Rinda and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
20-Jul-2025
Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav while speaking to The Indian Express revealed that ongoing investigations by the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) have exposed an extensive hawala network funding the drug trade, with illicit cash routed through the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey, Malaysia, Canada, and West Asia. Over INR 12 crore has been recovered and 60 individuals arrested so far.
20-Jul-2025
Border Security Force (BSF) Punjab Frontier, in a joint operation with Punjab Police on July 20 arrested father- son duo, identified as Panjab Singh and his son Sukhchain Singh alias Sonu and seized two pistols (one without upper slide), three magazines and two mobile phones from their possession, in Dal village in Tarn Taran district.
19-Jul-2025
Border Security Force (BSF) troops on July 19 intercepted a drone ahead of the border security fence during a swift search operation, near Khemkaran village in Tarn Taran district.
19-Jul-2025
On July 19, Punjab Police, on day 140 of its “Yudh Nashian Virudh” campaign, registered 64 first information reports (FIRs), arrested 86 drug smugglers and recovered 1.5 kg of heroin and INR 45,700 drug money from their possession, across Punjab.
19-Jul-2025
Border Security Force (BSF) troops on July 19 arrested a Pakistani national identified as Mujamil Hussain and seized some Pakistani currency from his possession after he ventured into the Indian territory near KMS Wala Border Outpost in Ferozepur district in Punjab.
19-Jul-2025
According to top sources, the Indian government is actively pursuing the extradition of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist Pavittar Singh Batala from the United States (US) under the Indo-US extradition treaty. Batala, a close associate of designated terrorist Lakhbir Singh alias Landa, was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) along with seven others in a major operation targeting an international Khalistani terror network. Among those already charge-sheeted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is Jatinder Singh alias Joti, arrested in Mumbai for supplying weapons to Batala’s operatives. Another wanted Khalistani terrorist, Happy Passia, is also expected to be extradited to India soon.
19-Jul-2025
Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) Border Range on July 19 arrested one United Kingdom (UK) returnee, identified as Prabhjit Singh and seized 15.4 kg of heroin from his possession, near Chheharta in Amritsar district. Police revealed that Prabhjit was acting on the directions of Pakistan based smuggler identified as Chacha alias Rana. Investigations revealed that Prabhjit came in contact with Chacha through Gurlal Singh, a known drug peddler from his village who is now deceased. Police are probing both backward and forward linkages in the case.
18-Jul-2025
Border Security Force (BSF) troops on July 18 intercepted a drone and recovered 596 grams of heroin and the drone from fields near Roranwala Khurd village in Amritsar district. The drone was a DJI Mavic 3 Classic model.
18-Jul-2025
Border Security Force (BSF) troops on July 18 intercepted and shot down a drone near Dhanoe Kalan village in Amritsar district. The drone was a DJI Mavic 3 Classic model.
18-Jul-2025
Punjab Police on July 18 arrested an unemployed software engineer, identified as Shubham Dubey, in Faridabad, Haryana, for sending bomb threat emails targeting the Golden Temple to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC). Preliminary investigations suggest that Dubey acted alone, although officials are probing potential links to broader networks.