Op Trackdown: Police arrest 2,165 criminals in nine days

Haryana Police’s ‘Operation Trackdown’ has emerged as a big success in cracking down on criminals across the state.

Launched under Director General of Police OP Singh, this state-wide campaign has led to the arrest of 2,165 criminals — including wanted and absconding offenders involved in serious crimes.

One of the major breakthroughs during the campaign came from the Special Task Force (STF), Bahadurgarh unit, which nabbed Manoj alias Chotiya, an active member of the notorious Rohit Godara gang. Manoj carried a reward of Rs 10,000 and was wanted in several serious cases, including an attempted murder registered at Narnaul police station.

On December 5, 2024, Manoj carried out a deadly attack on Amit, a member of a rival gang, inside the Narnaul court complex. Since then, STF Bahadurgarh had been actively searching for him. He was arrested on November 13 under ‘Operation Trackdown’.

A case under the Arms Act has been registered against him. He already faces seven serious cases—including attempt to murder (Section 307 IPC), assault, rioting and criminal conspiracy (120B)—in Ateli, Narnaul and Mandawa police stations.

The success of the operation is not limited to organised gangs alone but has proven equally effective in arresting criminals wanted for grave individual offences. Under the leadership of SP Deepak Saharan, Sirsa police arrested Rs 5,000 reward-carrying accused Joni, who had been absconding for nearly four years in a murder case.

Joni, a resident of Nathaur village (Rania police station area), was wanted in a murder case registered in August 2024. To evade arrest, he kept changing his identity and location across different regions of Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana. Based on crucial intelligence and sustained efforts, Sub-Inspector Sandeep Kumar and his team successfully arrested him from Sardarpur (Hanumangarh district), Rajasthan.

Haryana DGP OP Singh stated that ‘Operation Trackdown’ has sent a clear message to criminals -- either give up crime or be ready to go to jail. “In just nine days, the police have arrested a total of 2,165 criminals. 438 notorious and hardcore interstate offenders involved in heinous crimes such as robbery, dacoity and attempted murder have been jailed,” he said.

As a major step under this campaign, the police are opening history sheets of habitual offenders. As of 13 November, a total of 118 history sheets have been opened, including 23 hardened criminals on November 13 alone. The purpose of opening history sheets is to ensure constant and strict surveillance over these offenders, preventing them from committing further crimes after being released on bail.

The DGP reaffirmed that Haryana Police would continue ‘Operation Trackdown’ with full strictness and consistency until crime is completely eradicated from the state.