24 January, 2026 – Chandigarh : Of the big 61 Punjabi gangsters operating from the foreign soil, the maximum are based out of the US.
The US has 18 such gangsters, followed by the UAE (9), Canada and Germany (6 each), UK (5), Europe (5), Australia and Portugal (3 each), Thailand/Malaysia (2), and one each in Pakistan, Italy, Brazil and Indonesia.
The Punjab Police had prepared the list to carry out the 72-hour-long Operation Prahar, which concluded on Thursday with the arrest of their 3,287 associates.
Red corner notices against 21
Twenty-one foreign-based gangsters already face red-corner notices. Punjab has also formed the Overseas Fugitive Tracking & Extradition Cell (OFTEC) to track and arrest foreign based gangsters and terrorists.
The unit will operate under the supervision of IPS Ashish Choudhary, designated as the state nodal officer for international police cooperation.
Choudhary has returned to the state after seven-year deputation with the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
The team includes Gurmeet Chauhan, DIG, AGTF; Akhil Chaudhary, DIG, ANTF; Kamaldeep Singh, DIG, BoI; D Sudarvizhi, AIG, CI. The Punjab Police, through the Centre, has asked foreign countries to arrest these criminals.
DGP Gaurav Yadav said the biggest challenge was curbing those operating from abroad. “The Operation Prahar aimed at breaking their network in Punjab, destroying their financial channels and attaching ill-gotten property,” he said.
Yadav said between April 2022 and October 2025, Punjab saw 324 armed exchanges between the police and gangs, leaving 24 gangsters dead, 515 arrested, 319 injured and three police officers martyred.
The police are preparing to announce cash rewards for information on the big 61 gangsters.
Among them are Satinder Singh, alias Goldy Brar (Canada), mastermind of Sidhu Moosewala’s murder; Harvinder Sandhu, alias Rinda (Pakistan), key figure in the Rinda-Landa gang; Rohit Godara (Europe), handler of the Brar-Godara syndicate; Arshdeep Singh, alias Arsh Dala (Canada), linked to Jaipal Bhullar; Lakhbir Singh, alias Landa (Canada), part of the Rinda-Landa network; and Donny Bal of the Bambiha gang, wanted in the killing of kabaddi promoter Rana Balachauria.
“The complete ecosystem of gangsters will be busted, their financial trails will be exposed and checked and there will be zero tolerance for aiding and abettors,” Yadav said.
Govt drive gets new name
The Punjab Government changed the name of drive against gangsters to “Gangstran Te Vaar” .
According to sources, this was done as the earlier name — Operation Prahar — was “politically incorrect” as it was not a Punjabi name.
The Tribune