Punjab Police conducted 555 simultaneous raids across the state on Friday, June 5, 2026, marking the 135th day of the ongoing anti-gangster campaign Gangsteran Te Vaar ('War on Gangsters'), the Chief Minister's Office of Punjab announced. The raids targeted identified and mapped locations linked to associates of gangsters, resulting in fresh arrests and weapons seizures that pushed the campaign's cumulative arrest tally to 33,917.

What Happened

Police teams fanned out across Punjab to simultaneously hit 555 pre-identified locations tied to gangster networks. The coordinated operation yielded arrests along with the recovery of six weapons, underscoring the campaign's continued focus on dismantling the operational infrastructure of organised crime rather than targeting only top-tier figures.

The CMO's post stated: 'ਸੂਬੇ ਵਿੱਚ ਚੱਲ ਰਹੀ ਫ਼ੈਸਲਾਕੁੰਨ ਮੁਹਿੰਮ' — translated, 'the decisive campaign underway in the state' — has now logged 33,917 total arrests since its launch.

Context

Punjab has long grappled with organised crime networks intertwined with drug trafficking and cross-border syndicates. Gang violence — ranging from extortion rackets to contract killings — has periodically destabilised law and order in the state, drawing political attention from successive governments.

After the 2022 state elections, the government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann under the Aam Aadmi Party elevated action against the drug-gangster nexus to a central governance commitment. Gangsteran Te Vaar emerged as the operational expression of that pledge, combining intelligence-led mapping of associate networks with sustained, high-frequency raids.

Policy Backdrop

The campaign's defining feature is its data-driven methodology: locations are identified and mapped before raids are executed, shifting the approach from reactive policing to systematic network disruption. This model targets associates and logistical nodes — safe houses, financiers, weapons caches — rather than waiting to intercept kingpins directly.

Successive Punjab administrations have alternated between large-scale police operations and legislative measures, including asset attachment provisions, to address organised crime. The current drive represents the most sustained iteration of this pattern, with daily operational updates maintaining public accountability and deterrence signalling.

Stakeholders and Impact

For ordinary residents, the campaign's scale — nearly 34,000 arrests over 135 days — signals a prolonged pressure campaign on criminal ecosystems that have historically fuelled extortion and violence in local communities. Businesses and individuals who have faced gang-related threats stand as the primary intended beneficiaries.

For Punjab Police, sustaining the operational tempo requires significant coordination across districts. The emphasis on mapped locations suggests an intelligence architecture that, if maintained, could yield longer-term disruption of gang hierarchies beyond individual arrests.

What's Next

Daily operational updates from the CMO suggest the campaign will continue at pace, with each milestone used to signal governance momentum. Analysts will watch whether the volume of arrests translates into successful prosecutions and whether the Punjab Assembly moves on complementary legislation — such as stricter asset attachment provisions or enhanced anti-organised crime statutes — to consolidate the operational gains on the ground.