Chandigarh, Feb. 12 -- In a first, the Punjab Police have taken 1,450 persons into preventive custody during Operation Prahaar-2, part of the ongoing anti-gangster drive. The preventive action, initiated under Sections 126 and 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), marks the first time that the state police have carried out such large-scale preventive detentions to map and monitor criminal elements across the state. Sections 126 and 170 of the BNSS are preventive provisions meant to maintain public order. According to senior police officials, those taken into custody include individuals with three or more Arms Act cases in the past five years, habitual offenders, and persons involved in more than three snatching cases over the last three years. "Our teams conducted a detailed district-wise analysis and mapped over 3,000 such individuals based on their criminal history. During preventive custody, each individual is being thoroughly interrogated," said a senior officer supervising Operation Prahaar-2, requesting anonymity. A person taken into preventive custody has to take bail from the local SDM by furnishing a bond. A person can be taken into preventive custody for a maximum of one year under these sections. Another senior official stated that police teams will continue to monitor these individuals even if they are out on bail. "The idea is to put all of them on bail so that if they violate the bail bond, their arrest gets easy," said another official. Special DGP (law and order) Arpit Shukla said that individuals with 'doubtful integrity' are often used by gangsters operating from abroad to execute crimes in the state. Operation Prahaar-2, which concluded on Wednesday, saw police conduct raids at 8,278 locations linked to wanted criminals over a span of 72 hours. A total of 7,498 persons were rounded up across the state, of whom 3,260, including 135 proclaimed offenders, were formally arrested. Police teams recovered 47 weapons, 4.8 kg of heroin, 3.6 kg of opium, 42,797 intoxicating pills, 68 kg of poppy husk, and Rs.30 lakh in drug money during the operation. In addition to the 1,450 preventive arrests. DGP Gaurav Yadav said "The sustained campaign will continue with full force until Punjab is completely cleansed of the gangster menace."...