Punjab has witnessed a five-fold surge in cross-border arms smuggling since the Operation Sindoor in May this year, director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said on Tuesday.
In a year-end interaction with Hindustan Times, the state police chief said this year, more than 400 arms consignments were pushed into Punjab, mostly through drones, from Pakistan, marking nearly a five-times increase compared to last year.
He said a new trend has emerged in which drones are being used to drop one-kilogram heroin consignments along with one or two Glock pistols or grenades. These weapons are later handed over to youth in Punjab by organised networks to carry out crimes and project the state as disturbed. “Many drone drops may have gone undetected,” Yadav said.
According to the DGP, Glock-type pistols are being manufactured in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region of Pakistan and are nearly as effective as original weapons.
Yadav said the narrative of portraying Punjab as a disturbed state is being pushed by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
“Systematic efforts have been underway to disturb harmony in Punjab and create divisions among communities,” he said. “ Punjab police have pro-actively foiled such attempts in a close coordination with the central agencies,” he said.
Punjab has also witnessed a spike in low-intensity grenade attacks, primarily targeting police installations, since September 2024. The DGP said all 24 such attacks have been solved and the criminal gangs involved have been exposed.
{{/usCountry}}Punjab has also witnessed a spike in low-intensity grenade attacks, primarily targeting police installations, since September 2024. The DGP said all 24 such attacks have been solved and the criminal gangs involved have been exposed.
{{/usCountry}}“The ISI and its foreign-based conduits were operating behind these attacks,” he added.
Yadav said that since September 2019, when drone-based smuggling was first detected in Punjab, the state has recorded around 1,500 drone sightings along the International Border.
On attempts to resurrect a separatist movement in Punjab, the DGP said repeated attempts have failed due to lack of public support. “The vast majority of Punjabis are nationalist and non-radical. With no popular backing, adversarial elements are now trying to portray Punjab as a disturbed state,” he added.