High-ranking police officials from five states and the Union Territory of Chandigarh met at the Punjab Police Intelligence Headquarters on Tuesday to frame a joint strategy against gangster networks, cross-border smuggling of drugs and weapons and Pakistan’s ISI-backed attempts to spread terrorism and violence in the region.

Officials said criminals and gangsters operated across borders, making a coordinated response essential. The nearly five-hour meeting was held under the aegis of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), with Punjab as host. It was the third such interaction since 2024, following earlier rounds in New Delhi and Panchkula.

Senior officers from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, New Delhi and Chandigarh attended the meeting, along with NIA officials. Discussions focused on intelligence and data sharing, swift response mechanisms and ways to bring fugitives hiding abroad back faster.

Officials noted Punjab faces the highest intensity of cross-border crime due to terrain that aids drone movement. The Rajasthan border sees fewer incidents because of sparse population. Punjab’s proximity to Pakistan, shared language across the border and diaspora networks exploited by criminal elements compound the challenge.

Participants included Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav; NIA Director General Rakesh Aggarwal; Chandigarh DGP Dr Sagar Preet Hooda; ADGP Anti-Terrorist Squad, Rajasthan, MN Dinesh; Special Commissioner of Police (Special Cell), New Delhi, Anil Shukla; ADGP, CID, Haryana, Saurav Singh; IGP, STF, Satish Balan; ADGP, CID, Himachal Pradesh, Gyaneshwar Singh; ADGP, Anti-Gangster Task Force, Promod Ban; ADGP, Punjab, Amit Prasad; and Additional DG, NIA, Vijay Sakhare.

The meeting discussed countering ISI-backed recruitment of youth through social media networks linked to Shehzad Bhatti, Babbar Khalsa and other groups. Officials also examined ways to challenge false narratives spread by pseudo-organisations.

Financial and extortion networks run through UPI, hawala and crypto channels by handlers abroad were also taken up. Officials said Pakistani intelligence officers lure teenagers online with promises of money and settlement overseas, using them as expendable recruits. Similar IEDs used in Jalandhar, Ambala and Nalagarh underline the shared threat across states.