Punjab Police Conducts 529 Raids on Day 145 of Gangsteran Te Vaar
Synopsis
On the 145th day of Punjab's Gangsteran Te Vaar campaign, police conducted 529 raids at pre-mapped locations linked to gangster associates, recovered four weapons, and pushed total arrests since the campaign's launch to 36,932.
Key Takeaways
529 raids were conducted across Punjab on June 15, 2026 , the 145th day of the Gangsteran Te Vaar campaign.
All raided locations were pre-identified and mapped by Punjab Police , indicating intelligence-led operations.
Four weapons were recovered during the day's raids alongside multiple arrests.
Total arrests since the campaign's launch have reached 36,932 .
The campaign targets gangster associates — the support networks of organised crime — across the entire state.
The drive aligns with the AAP government's 2022 electoral mandate to tackle gangsterism and drug-linked crime in Punjab .
The Chief Minister's Office of Punjab announced on Monday, June 15, 2026 that Punjab Police conducted 529 raids across the state on the 145th day of the ongoing anti-gangster drive, Gangsteran Te Vaar ('War on Gangsters'), targeting identified and mapped locations linked to associates of gangsters.
Context
The raids on June 15 resulted in multiple arrests and the recovery of four weapons, pushing the campaign's cumulative arrest tally to 36,932 since its launch. The 529 locations raided were pre-identified and mapped by police teams, reflecting a data-driven operational approach to dismantling gang networks across Punjab.
The CMO's post stated in Punjabi: 'ਗੈਂਗਸਟਰਾਂ 'ਤੇ ਵਾਰ' — translated as 'War on Gangsters' — underscoring the campaign's framing as a decisive, sustained offensive rather than a routine policing exercise.
Policy Backdrop
The Aam Aadmi Party government, which came to power in Punjab after the 2022 assembly elections, carried an explicit mandate to curb gangsterism, organised crime and drug-linked violence in the state. Punjab, a border state, has long grappled with extortion networks, contract killings and narcotics trafficking, some with alleged links to overseas criminal elements.
Gangsteran Te Vaar is part of a recurring pattern of coordinated police drives in the state, combining location mapping, large-scale raids and mass arrests to disrupt criminal syndicates. The current campaign's scale — with raids running into hundreds on a single day and total arrests nearing 37,000 — marks it as one of the more sustained such operations in recent state history.
Stakeholders and Impact
Punjab Police is the primary agency executing the campaign, with teams deployed across multiple districts simultaneously to conduct the mapped raids. The operation directly targets gangster associates — the logistics and support networks that enable organised crime — rather than limiting its focus to named gang leaders alone.
For residents of Punjab, the campaign's stated goal is a measurable reduction in gang-related extortion, violence and intimidation. Weapon recoveries, even in small numbers per raid cycle, are considered operationally significant as they reduce the firepower available to active networks.
What's Next
Authorities are expected to continue daily operational updates as the campaign progresses beyond its 145-day mark. Key indicators to watch include the rate of fresh arrests, the volume of weapons and contraband recovered, and any follow-up action on prosecutions arising from the 36,932 arrests recorded so far.
The trajectory of gang-related incidents in Punjab in the coming weeks will serve as a broader test of whether the campaign's arrest numbers are translating into a durable reduction in organised criminal activity across the state.
Point of View
Intelligence-led raids rather than random sweeps signals an attempt to project institutional rigour, not just numerical scale. However, the real measure of the campaign's success will be prosecutorial outcomes and a verifiable decline in gang-related incidents, metrics that daily arrest tallies alone cannot confirm. At nearly 37,000 cumulative arrests, the operation's sustainability and the quality of cases built will come under increasing scrutiny from courts and civil liberties observers alike.
NationPress
6 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Gangsteran Te Vaar campaign in Punjab?
Gangsteran Te Vaar, meaning 'War on Gangsters,' is a statewide Punjab Police operation targeting gangsters and their associates through intelligence-led raids, location mapping and large-scale arrests. It was launched by the AAP government to curb organised crime, extortion and drug-linked violence in Punjab.
How many raids did Punjab Police conduct on day 145 of Gangsteran Te Vaar?
Punjab Police conducted 529 raids on the 145th day of the campaign, June 15, 2026, at pre-identified and mapped locations linked to gangster associates across the state.
What is the total number of arrests under Gangsteran Te Vaar?
As of June 15, 2026 — the campaign's 145th day — total arrests since the launch of Gangsteran Te Vaar stand at 36,932.
What weapons were recovered in the June 15 Punjab Police raids?
Punjab Police recovered four weapons during the raids conducted on June 15, 2026, as part of the Gangsteran Te Vaar campaign.
Why did Punjab launch the Gangsteran Te Vaar campaign?
The AAP government, which came to power in Punjab after the 2022 assembly elections, launched the campaign to fulfil its mandate of dismantling organised criminal networks involved in extortion, contract killings and narcotics trafficking in the state.
