Punjab Police bring back 17 gangsters from abroad in six months
Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said the extraditions were part of the Gangstran Te Vaar campaign to combat crime.
Punjab Police have brought 17 gangsters back from foreign countries over the last six months, according to The Times of India. Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema announced the development on Monday, stating that the previous government failed to achieve such results for decades.
The minister said the extraditions were part of the Gangstran Te Vaar campaign. Between January 20 and November 7, 2026, the police conducted 1,61,266 raids and arrested approximately 2,162 proclaimed offenders.
Among those brought back are Ramanjit Singh Romi from Hong Kong, Amrit Singh from the Maldives, Prabhpreet Singh from Germany, and Parminder Singh Pindi from the UAE. Other extradited individuals include Sajjan Mahesh and Sukhdev Kumar, alias Manish Baidi, from Indonesia; Ajay Singh, Pawandeep Singh, and Jaspreet Singh from Malaysia; and Karmbir Singh Deol from Canada.
A recent breakthrough on November 7 involved the deportation of Gurwinder Singh, alias Afridi, from Ethiopia. Cheema said Afridi heads a gang, faces over 30 criminal cases, and carries a reward of up to Rs 5 lakh.
Cheema alleged that gangsters were nurtured during the Akali-BJP rule and allowed to flourish under the Congress regime. He added that the Bhagwant Mann government aims to eliminate gangsterism in Punjab by presenting firm evidence in court to ensure criminals are punished.
The minister stated that the government's objective is to make Punjab a gangster-free state.