India, Nov. 30 -- Punjab is witnessing an unprecedented crackdown on organised crime, with gangsters increasingly on the run or seeking shelter outside the state. Since April 2021, the Punjab Police along with Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) have arrested 2,536 criminals and "neutralised" another 24.

Officials said 962 gangster or criminal modules have been dismantled across Punjab. In the process, police teams recovered 2,086 illicit weapons, 564 vehicles used in criminal activity, 79 kg of heroin and nearly Rs 5 crore in suspected drug proceeds.

The campaign has involved frequent armed confrontations. Data made public by the police shows there have been 324 "exchanges of fire" between law-enforcement teams and criminals over this peri...