The Chief Minister's Office of Punjab announced on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, that the state's ongoing anti-gangster campaign, 'Gangsteran Te Vaar', has entered its 167th day, with Punjab Police conducting 840 raids at locations linked to associates of gangsters across the state.

What Happened

On Day 167 of the campaign, police teams arrested individuals found in possession of 12 weapons. The single-day action pushed the campaign's cumulative arrest count to 44,666 since its launch. Separately, 20 Proclaimed Offenders (POs) were arrested during the operation, and preventive action was taken against 296 persons.

The CMO's post stated: 'As the decisive Gangsteran Te Vaar campaign enters its 167th day, Punjab Police conducted 840 raids at identified and mapped locations linked to associates of gangsters across the state.'

Context

Gangsteran Te Vaar — Punjabi for 'Strike Against Gangsters' — is a sustained enforcement drive launched by Punjab Police under the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party government that came to power in 2022. The campaign targets the broader ecosystem of organised crime in the state, going beyond individual gangsters to map and neutralise their networks of associates, arms suppliers, and financiers.

The drive gained renewed urgency following high-profile incidents of gang-linked violence in Punjab that drew national attention. The use of 'identified and mapped locations' signals an intelligence-led approach, with police building dossiers on gang networks before executing coordinated raids.

Policy Backdrop

Punjab has grappled for over a decade with entrenched gang rivalries intertwined with drug trafficking and extortion rackets. Successive state governments have responded with periodic enforcement surges, but the current administration has framed Gangsteran Te Vaar as a longer-term, data-driven campaign rather than a short-term crackdown.

The emphasis on Proclaimed Offenders — individuals who have evaded court appearances and have active warrants — reflects a parallel effort to clear the backlog of fugitives from the criminal justice system. Preventive detentions, used against 296 persons on this day alone, are a legal tool that allows police to hold individuals likely to commit offences, often deployed during intensified anti-crime phases.

Stakeholders and Impact

Residents of Punjab, particularly in districts historically associated with gang activity, are the primary beneficiaries of sustained enforcement. The seizure of 12 weapons in a single day's operations points to the continued circulation of illegal arms in the state, a concern that feeds into both gang violence and cross-border security dynamics given Punjab's international border with Pakistan.

Organised crime networks face mounting pressure as the cumulative arrest figure of 44,666 represents a significant attrition of manpower available to gang operations. Legal advocacy groups and civil liberties observers, however, have in the past flagged the use of preventive detention provisions, calling for oversight to ensure due process is maintained at scale.

What's Next

With the campaign now past its 167th consecutive day, attention will turn to whether the administration translates enforcement gains into durable institutional outcomes — including witness protection mechanisms, fast-track prosecution of arrested individuals, and legislative measures to tighten controls on illegal arms. The daily cadence of CMO updates suggests the government intends to keep the campaign's visibility high as a political and governance signal ahead of future electoral cycles in Punjab.