targeted Shootings Foiled In Ludhiana; Two Linked To Terror-gangster Nexus Held With 3 Pistols

May18,2026 | Anil Passi/paras Dania | Ludhiana

*— ARRESTED ACCUSED WERE ACTING ON DIRECTIONS OF FOREIGN-BASED HANDLERS OPERATING FROM GERMANY AND DUBAI: DGP GAURAV YADAV*

*— OVERSEAS HANDLERS UTILISED THEIR NETWORK TO SUPPLY HIGH-GRADE WEAPONS TO ARRESTED OPERATIVES: CP LDH SWAPAN SHARMA*

In a major breakthrough amidst the ongoing drive to make Punjab a safe and secure state, Ludhiana Commissionerate Police, in a joint operation with Counter Intelligence (CI) Punjab, has busted a transnational terror-gangster nexus with the arrest of its two operatives and recovered three illegal pistols— two .30 bore and one .315 bore— along with 11 live cartridges from their possession, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Monday.

Those arrested have been identified as Anuraj alias Gaurav Masih and Ankush, both residents of Phillaur in Jalandhar. Arrested accused Ankush is a habitual offender and was previously booked under an attempt to murder case registered at Police Station Goraya. Apart from recovering weapons, police teams have also impounded their Bajaj CT 100 motorcycle (without a registration number), which they were using for criminal activities.

DGP Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary investigation has revealed that the arrested accused were acting on directions of foreign-based handlers operating from Germany and Dubai, UAE, and had been assigned high-profile targeted shootings. Their timely arrest has successfully averted potentially serious criminal activities, he said.

The DGP said that further investigation is underway to establish forward and backward linkages of this network to identify other associates involved.

Sharing operational details, Commissioner of Police (CP) Ludhiana Swapan Sharma said that a joint police party of the CIA Staff and Counter Intelligence Ludhiana had established a Naka within the jurisdiction of Police Station Ladowal. Acting swiftly on precise intelligence that two armed individuals were waiting near the Hardy's World area to execute a sensational criminal offence, the police team conducted a tactical raid and apprehended both suspects, he said.

The CP said that during preliminary interrogation, the arrested operatives made disclosures regarding their operational hierarchy confessing to being active members of an organised, transnational criminal syndicate operated directly by foreign-based handlers. “These overseas handlers utilised their network to supply high-grade weapons to the arrested operatives and had assigned them specific, high-value targets,” he said.

In this regard, a case FIR No. 91 dated 17-05-2026 has been registered under section 25 of the Arms Act and section 111 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Police Station Ladowal in Ludhiana.

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