Police Publish Gangster List; Drug Lord Escapes & CBI Summons Officers

April

2026

Panjab police have announced cash rewards for 28 proclaimed offender 'gangsters' who run extortion rackets, order killings, and smuggle arms and drugs into the state from hideouts spread across three continents. Most of them have not set foot in India for years. The government has approved rewards from USD 1–2K to informants upon providing correct and genuine information. The policy is part of the ongoing Gangstran Te Vaar (Strike Against Gangsters) campaign. Under the campaign, the Panjab police has conducted 56,487 raids at identified locations linked to associates of gangsters across the state. Police have arrested 19,894 and taken preventive action against 9,353, while 15,284 individuals were verified and released after questioning. Police have also arrested 851 proclaimed offenders. Alongside, a Batala, Gurdaspur district-born international drug lord, wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has managed to flee India under mysterious circumstances, triggering allegations of police collusion in his escape. Shehnaz Singh alias Shawn Bhinder, arrested in March 2025 from Ludhiana by Panjab police during Yudh Nashian Virudh (War Against Drugs) campaign, secured bail from the Punjab and Haryana High Court nearly two months ago. Subsequently, he applied to have his passport suspension revoked. Inspector Prabhjit Singh gave clearance to revoke his passport suspension. Bhinder fled India at the end of March 2026 after getting his passport. Meanwhile, A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court has summoned two Panjab police officers on 1 May to face trial in the alleged custodial death of Ramandeep Kaur from Ludhiana arrested with her fiancé Mukul Garg over ATM frauds. Ramandeep was found hanging inside a washroom at the Dugri village, Ludhiana district police station early morning on 5 Aug 2017. The state government has refused to grant prosecution sanction against two others—Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Kuldeep Sharma and Assistant Commissioner of Police Rupinder Kaur Bhatti named as accused in the CBI chargesheet. The CBI court of Special Judicial Magistrate Karanvir Singh Maju has ordered Sub-Inspector Dalvir Singh who was then Station Head Officer and Assistant Sub-Inspector Manjeet Singh to face trial for multiple offences including wrongful confinement, forging a legal document, intentionally submitting fabricated evidence, criminal conspiracy, and causing disappearance of evidence (earlier coverage).