The Chief Minister's Office of Punjab announced on Thursday, 11 June 2026 that Punjab Police conducted 593 coordinated raids across the state on the 142nd day of the ongoing anti-gangster drive Gangsteran Te Vaar ('War on Gangsters'), arresting individuals and seizing four weapons in a single-day operation.

What happened

Police teams fanned out to 593 identified and mapped locations linked to associates of gangsters across Punjab. The day's arrests pushed the campaign's cumulative total to 36,023 arrests since the drive was launched. Four firearms were recovered during the raids, adding to the weapons seized over the course of the operation.

The CMO shared the update in both Punjabi and English, stating: 'As the decisive Gangsteran Te Vaar campaign enters its 142nd day, Punjab Police conducted 593 raids at identified and mapped locations linked to associates of gangsters across the state.'

Context

Punjab has long grappled with organised crime networks that intersect with drug trafficking and cross-border criminal links. The Gangsteran Te Vaar campaign is the AAP-led government of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's flagship internal-security initiative, launched after the March 2022 assembly elections as a core governance commitment.

The campaign operates through a systematic approach: law-enforcement units identify and map the residences and hideouts of gangster associates before conducting simultaneous multi-location raids. Daily operational updates are shared through official government channels, making the drive one of the most publicly reported policing campaigns in the state's recent history.

Policy backdrop

Successive Punjab governments have periodically announced high-visibility anti-crime drives, but the current campaign is notable for its sustained cadence of daily reporting and the scale of cumulative arrests. The AAP government has positioned anti-gangster action alongside its anti-drug agenda as twin pillars of its law-and-order mandate.

The practice of mapping associate networks before executing simultaneous raids is intended to disrupt communication and support structures that allow active gangsters — many of whom operate from outside India — to continue directing criminal activity inside the state.

Stakeholders and impact

The primary stakeholders are Punjab Police, which bears operational responsibility, and communities in districts where gang-related extortion, violence, and drug supply have historically been concentrated. Each wave of raids targets associates rather than only principal accused, a strategy aimed at shrinking the logistical network around wanted individuals.

With 36,023 cumulative arrests, the scale of the campaign has drawn attention to questions of judicial capacity and undertrial management in Punjab's courts and jails — dimensions that state authorities will need to address as the drive continues.

What's next

The CMO's daily update cadence suggests the campaign will continue beyond the 142-day mark with no announced end date. Observers will watch for references to the drive's outcomes in upcoming Punjab Legislative Assembly sessions, where the government is likely to cite arrest and seizure figures as evidence of law-and-order performance. Asset-seizure data and court-conviction rates will be the longer-term metrics by which the campaign's effectiveness is ultimately judged.