Drawing a sharp contrast between the era when Akali and Congress leaders traded charges over gangsters on the floor of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha and the Bhagwant Mann Government’s crackdown that has now brought a wanted gangster back from Europe, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab President and Cabinet Minister Aman Arora on Saturday said the first-ever extradition of a gangster from Europe marks the Mann Government’s uncompromising stand against gangsterism. He said that while the previous Akali-BJP and Congress governments allowed gangsterism to flourish to the extent that leaders were openly debating in the 2021 Budget Session over “whose gangster” Jaggu Bhagwanpuria was, the AAP Government has pursued such fugitives across borders and ensured they are brought back to face the law.
The AAP Punjab President said that the Mann Government has left no stone unturned to eradicate drugs and gangsterism from Punjab and will not allow such elements to operate either from Punjab or from foreign soil. He said the Overseas Fugitive Tracking and Extradition Cell (OFTEC), established on January 20, 2026, has already secured the deportation or extradition of 10 wanted fugitives in seven months, while 21 more extradition proposals are pending with the Central Government.
Addressing a press conference at Punjab Bhawan, AAP Punjab President and Cabinet Minister Aman Arora said that the Bhagwant Mann Government had made the fight against drugs and gangsters a firm resolve since coming to power. “Our resolve throughout the tenure of the Bhagwant Mann Government has been that we will leave no stone unturned in eliminating drugs and gangsters from Punjab. We believe these are the very elements that previous governments allowed to flourish, whether it was the 10-year Akali Dal-BJP government or the five-year Congress government,” he said.
The AAP Punjab President stated that the situation during the previous regimes had reached such a stage that gangsterism had become a major issue even inside the Punjab Vidhan Sabha. “If you take out the speeches from the 2021 Budget Session of the Vidhan Sabha, when the Akali Dal was in Opposition and Congress was in power, you will see how gangsters had become so emboldened that they were openly being discussed on the floor of the House,” he said.
Referring to the records of the 2021 Budget Session, Aman Arora said Congress leader Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia had openly argued with each other over alleged links of political leaders with gangsters. “On one side Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and on the other side Bikram Singh Majithia would argue on record—‘Jaggu Bhagwanpuria is your product’, ‘that gangster is your product’. These things were happening inside the sacred Punjab Vidhan Sabha. This was the extent of the degradation that these parties had brought into Punjab’s politics,” he said.
The Cabinet Minister also recalled the incident in which a police personnel laid down his life while trying to protect his daughter. “That was also the time when a police personnel was trying to protect the honour of his daughter and bullets were fired into his chest. Punjab has emerged from those circumstances. The morale of the people is high today,” he said.
“Since the day our government came to power, we have tried to ensure that such elements are not allowed to operate on the soil of Punjab,” he added.
The AAP Punjab Chief said that as Punjab Police intensified action against such elements, many fugitives, hardcore criminals and gangsters fled abroad. “You have yourselves been reporting that whenever an incident takes place, an attempt is made to carry out an incident, or an extortion call is received, these activities often originate from foreign countries or other states,” he said.
He said the AAP government’s objective was to ensure that criminals sitting abroad could not disturb Punjab’s peace and security. “With the specific purpose that nobody sitting abroad should be able to disturb peace and harmony on the soil of Punjab, Punjab Police, on the directions of the government and CM Bhagwant Singh Mann, established the special Overseas Fugitive Tracking and Extradition Cell (OFTEC) on January 20, 2026,” he said.
The Minister said, “The specific purpose of this cell was to identify such elements, track them, trace them and ultimately bring them to jail and ensure that they face their consequences.”
He said the cell had achieved significant success within just seven months by coordinating with agencies at every level. “Whether it is state investigation, the Bureau of Investigation, the CBI, Interpol, the Ministry of Home Affairs, local-level police, the Ministry of External Affairs or the National Investigation Agency (NIA), OFTEC remains in coordination with all these agencies,” he said.
Aman Arora said this coordination was particularly important in cases where a crime or attempted crime in Punjab originated from abroad. “If a complaint comes that an attempt is being made to commit a crime here but it has originated in a foreign country, the cell works to connect the dots and reach the person behind it,” he said.
Congratulating CM Bhagwant Singh Mann and Punjab Police for the success achieved by OFTEC, the Minister said 10 wanted criminals have now been brought back to India through deportation or extradition, while 21 extradition proposals are pending with the Central Government. “The extradition process involves the state police sending proposals to the Central Government, which coordinates with the Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Home Affairs for bringing the fugitives back from foreign countries,” he added.
Among those brought back is notorious gangster Amritpal Singh alias Amrit Dalam, who faces three serious cases and was brought back from Moldova on Saturday.
The AAP Punjab Chief said several other wanted gangsters have also been brought back from Malaysia, Indonesia, the UAE and the USA. “Ajay Singh alias Ajay Malaysia and Pawandeep Singh, both wanted in FIR No. 150 dated 27.10.2025 under the BNS and Explosive Substances Act at Police Station Jodhewal, Ludhiana, were brought back from Malaysia on 19th August of this year,” he added.
Aman Arora noted, “Jaspreet Singh alias Jass Behbal, wanted in three FIRs at Police Station City Kotkapura, Faridkot, and Police Station Tapa, Barnala, was also brought back from Malaysia on 19.08.2026. Manjeet Singh and Gurvinder Singh, both wanted in FIR No. 76 at Police Station Kotwali, Patiala, were brought back from Malaysia on 18.06.2026. Jobanjit Billa, wanted in FIR No. 94 dated 24.05.2023 under the IPC and Arms Act at Police Station Beas, Amritsar, was brought back from Indonesia on 24.07.2026.”
He pointed out, “From the UAE, Amritpal Singh Mehron, wanted in two FIRs at Amritsar and Barnala, was brought back on 10.04.2026. Bhuvnesh Chopra, wanted in seven FIRs registered in Ferozepur, Kharar, Fazilka and Patiala, was brought back from the UAE on 12.03.2026. Kamal alias Kamal Athwal alias Kamalpreet Singh Billa, wanted in FIR No. 132 at Police Station Machhiwara, Khanna, was brought back from the USA on 24.03.2026.”
Aman Arora said that the Bhagwant Mann Government and Punjab Police are effectively pursuing fugitives across countries and ensuring that those trying to disturb Punjab’s peace from abroad were brought back to face the law. While it is the state government’s duty to ensure that crime does not take place in Punjab, the Centre also has an important responsibility in dealing with gangsters operating from outside the state,” he added.
“I will appeal to the Central Government and the BJP Government, and I will also appeal to the Akali Dal, which is trying to enter into an alliance with the BJP, that gangsters who are sitting in jails in BJP-ruled states and operating from safe havens must be curbed,” he said.
The AAP Punjab President said that these gangsters were not merely running local operations but were operating national and international criminal networks. “These gangsters, sitting in jails and safe havens in BJP-ruled states, are running not only national but international rackets. They have hundreds and thousands of gangsters operating under them. They target whichever person they want, whichever state they want and whichever country they want to target,” he said.
He said, “They are in the custody of the Central Government or in the custody of BJP governments. There must be a check on them as well.”
Aman Arora reiterated that Punjab would continue its uncompromising action against gangsters. “As far as Punjab is concerned, I will reiterate once again that the Bhagwant Mann Government and Punjab Police will not allow such elements to operate here. Punjab Police is the force that sacrificed its lives to bring Punjab out of the dark days of terrorism. This is nothing compared to what Punjab Police has already faced,” he said.
However, he stressed that the nature of organised crime had changed with technology. “Today is the age of technology. There are encrypted messages and encrypted voice calls. Tracking these cannot be the responsibility of the state police alone. For this, there is a need for central agencies and a national-level campaign, a national-level movement,” he said.
Aman Arora congratulated Punjab Police on bringing the Moldova-based gangster back to Punjab and said the action reflected the success of the Mann Government’s directions and the work being carried out by OFTEC. “I congratulate Punjab Police on this major success achieved on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in bringing this gangster back from Moldova,” he said.
Reassuring the people of Punjab, Aman Arora appealed to citizens to immediately inform the local police about any criminal incident, attempted incident or extortion call that comes to their notice. “If any such incident takes place, if you come to know that an incident is going to happen, or if you receive any extortion call, report it to the local police so that the government and police can take firm action,” he said.
The AAP Punjab President assured the people of Punjab that the Bhagwant Mann government would continue to act decisively against criminal networks and protect the state’s peace and security.
