48 hours, 6 states and 854 arrests: Delhi cops crack down on organised crime...

New Delhi: In a two-day operation spanning six states, Delhi Police have cracked down on organised crime syndicates, detaining over 6,500 suspects and arresting 854 of them. Around 9,000 personnel from various police stations, the crime branch and special cell conducted raids across Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh between Jan 9 and 11, netting drug and liquor traffickers, financiers of criminal gangs and suppliers of arms to gangsters active in the capital.The operation, codenamed ‘Gang Bust-2026', spearheaded by joint commissioners Vijay Singh and Jatin Narwal along with additional commissioner CP Kushwah, targeted 4,299 hideouts of the gangs and resulted in the registration of 690 FIRs under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Arms Act, Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, Delhi Excise Act and Public Gambling Act. Fourteen members of the infamous Kapil Sangwan alias Nandu gang, 13 of Jitendra Mann alias Gogi gang and nine of Kala Jathedi-Anil Chhippi gang were arrested, according to Kushwaha.Under Arms Act, 286 cases were registered, 300 arrests made and 122 firearms, 188 knives, 129 rounds of ammunition and over Rs 15 lakh in cash were seized. Thirty-six NDPS cases accounted for 43 arrests and the seizure of 114.6 kg ganja, cocaine, heroin, charas and psychotropic substances like tramadol, alprazolam and buprenorphine. Enforcement under Delhi Excise Act resulted in the registration of 145 cases and 152 arrests along with the seizure of 28,364 quarters of illicit liquor. The gambling Act was invoked in 137 cases; 285 arrests were made and over Rs 5.5 lakh in cash was seized. Eighty-six cases were registered under several BNS sections and 74 people were arrested. Police said they are intensifying action against such syndicates through aggressive pursuits, seizure of properties, invoking Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), trials in absentia and extradition of gang members based abroad.Prior to this operation, Delhi Police conducted a four-month drive against organised crime in Delhi-NCR from Sept 1 to Dec 31, 2025. Seven gangsters were killed and 21 injured during shootouts. Police arrested 183 criminals, including 34 under MCOCA and 149 in other cases, while extraditing two fugitives and initiating trials in absentia in case of nine others. These raids targeted 539 houses and hideouts, yielding 118 firearms, over Rs 1 crore in cash, 1.3 kg gold, 14 kg silver, eight cars, 11 motorcycles, 22 mobile phones and a laptop, thereby denting the logistical and financial networks of these rackets.