Gangstran Te Vaar: 72,000+ arrested in 8 months in Punjab's war on gangsters

Updated: Today
Copy Link

Last Updated: 28 September 2026

Gangstran Te Vaar (War on Gangsters): statewide campaign launched by Punjab Police on 20 January 2026 under CM Bhagwant Mann's govt to make Punjab gangster-free[1][2]

IMPACT: 8 months (till 20 Sept 2026)[1:1]
-- 72,311 arrested, including gangsters and their associates
-- 1.34 lakh raids at mapped locations with the Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF)
-- 1,224 weapons, 3,555 live cartridges, 377 magazines and 15 hand grenades recovered
-- 1,858 proclaimed offenders arrested; preventive action against 37,652 persons

Gangster crime fell within 3 months[3]
-- Gangster-linked murders: 4 (January) → 0 (March 2026)
-- Gangster-linked firing incidents down 69%: 29 (January) → 9 (till 20 April)
-- Extortion cases down 10.9%: 110 (January) → 98 (March)

Month-wise progress

Campaign period Raids Arrested Weapons recovered
1 month (20 Feb 2026)[4] 32,342 10,412 205
2 months (20 Mar 2026)[5] 46,915 15,683 309
4 months (20 May 2026)[6] 77,895 30,721 569
5 months (20 Jun 2026)[7] 93,927 38,738 716
6 months (20 Jul 2026)[8] 96,964 50,930 -
7 months (20 Aug 2026)[9] 1.16 lakh+ 62,641 -
8 months (20 Sept 2026)[1:2] 1.34 lakh 72,311 1,224

Bringing back gangsters hiding abroad

Overseas Fugitive Tracking & Extradition Cell (OFTEC) set up by Punjab Police on 20 Jan 2026[10]
-- 10 fugitives brought back in 7 months through extradition/deportation; 21 more proposals pending with the Centre
-- 1st-ever extradition from Europe: Jaggu Bhagwanpuria gang's Amrit Dalam brought back from Moldova (Sept 2026)[11]
-- 3 Bambiha gang operatives deported from Malaysia (Aug 2026)[12]

How the campaign works

  • Operation Prahaar (from 20 Jan 2026): 2,000+ police teams (~12,000 personnel) raided locations linked to associates of 60 foreign-based gangsters; 1,314 rounded up on Day 1[2:1]
  • Operation Prahaar-2 (Feb 2026): raids at 8,278 locations; 3,260 held in 72 hours, incl. 135 proclaimed offenders[13]
  • Anti-Gangster Helpline 93946-93946 (from 21 Jan 2026): 590 tips in 2 months led to 63 FIRs and 26 arrests[14]
  • AGTF recovered 713 illegal arms and 2,009 rounds in the first 152 days[15]
  • Financial crackdown: ₹65 crore assets frozen in a Pakistan-backed drone-drugs-guns nexus in Tarn Taran (May 2026)[16]

References:

  1. https://yespunjab.com/gangstran-te-vaar-punjab-police-arrests-72311-in-eight-months/ (Punjab Govt Press Release, 20 Sept 2026) ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  2. https://yespunjab.com/gangstran-te-vaar-over-1300-aides-abettors-of-foreign-based-gangsters-rounded-up-on-day-one-dgp-gaurav-yadav/ (Punjab Govt Press Release, 20 Jan 2026) ↩︎ ↩︎

  3. https://yespunjab.com/punjab-witnesses-significant-decline-in-gangster-related-murders-firing-incidents-dropped-by-69-after-launch-of-gangstran-te-vaar/ (Punjab Govt Press Release, 21 April 2026) ↩︎

  4. https://yespunjab.com/gangstran-te-vaar-over-10k-individuals-arrested-with-205-weapons-in-one-month/ (Punjab Govt Press Release, 20 Feb 2026) ↩︎

  5. https://yespunjab.com/gangstran-te-vaar-over-15k-individuals-arrested-with-309-weapons-in-2-months/ (Punjab Govt Press Release, 20 March 2026) ↩︎

  6. https://yespunjab.com/gangstran-te-vaar-over-30k-individuals-arrested-with-569-weapons-in-4-months-spl-dgp-praveen-sinha/ (Punjab Govt Press Release, 20 May 2026) ↩︎

  7. https://yespunjab.com/gangstran-te-vaar-over-38k-individuals-arrested-with-716-weapons-in-5-months-spl-dgp-praveen-sinha/ (Punjab Govt Press Release, 20 June 2026) ↩︎

  8. https://yespunjab.com/gangstran-te-vaar-50930-individuals-arrested-in-six-months-spl-dgp-praveen-sinha/ (Punjab Govt Press Release, 20 July 2026) ↩︎

  9. https://yespunjab.com/punjab-police-arrests-62641-gangsters-and-criminals-in-seven-month-gangstran-te-vaar-campaign-2/ (Punjab Govt Press Release, 20 Aug 2026) ↩︎

  10. https://yespunjab.com/punjab-govt-extradites-10-overseas-fugitives-in-seven-months-21-more-proposals-pending-aman-arora/ (Punjab Govt Press Release, 12 Sept 2026) ↩︎

  11. https://yespunjab.com/punjab-police-secures-first-ever-extradition-from-europe-jaggu-bhagwanpuria-gangs-amrit-dalam-brought-back/ (Punjab Govt Press Release, 12 Sept 2026) ↩︎

  12. https://yespunjab.com/punjab-police-secure-deportation-of-three-bambiha-gang-operatives-from-malaysia/ (Punjab Govt Press Release, 19 Aug 2026) ↩︎

  13. https://yespunjab.com/gangstran-te-vaar-operation-prahaar-2-remains-a-big-success-135-pos-among-3260-individuals-held-in-72-hours/ (Punjab Govt Press Release, 11 Feb 2026) ↩︎

  14. https://yespunjab.com/punjab-polices-anti-gangster-helpline-93946-93946-emerges-as-huge-success/ (Punjab Govt Press Release, 27 March 2026) ↩︎

  15. https://yespunjab.com/anti-gangster-task-force-deals-major-blow-to-gangster-networks-recovers-713-illegal-weapons-during-152-days-of-gangstran-te-vaar/ (Punjab Govt Press Release, 23 June 2026) ↩︎

  16. https://yespunjab.com/punjab-police-crush-pakistan-backed-drone-drugs-guns-nexus-₹65-cr-assets-frozen-under-gangstran-te-vaar-in-tarn-taran/ (Punjab Govt Press Release, 4 May 2026) ↩︎

Related Pages

No related pages found.