Behind Bars Yet Active: How Gang Syndicates Operate Across States From High-Security Jails

A criminal network continues to run extensive operations across multiple states despite its alleged leader remaining confined in high-security prisons since 2016. Originating from student politics and campus rivalries in Chandigarh, the syndicate expanded into a decentralised enterprise involving extortion, intimidation, and cross-border coordination. Recruits, often young individuals, receive weapons and specific targets through overseas handlers and intermediaries without direct contact with the leadership. Encrypted messaging applications and smuggled communication devices have facilitated cross-border planning and high-profile attacks against public figures, actors, and politicians. The syndicate drew significant national attention following threats linked to a 1998 wildlife poaching case, followed by gunfire outside an actor's residence and the fatal shooting of a former state minister in Mumbai. Despite repeated incidents, procedural safeguards, high-security protocols, and statutory requirements mandate special permissions from designated courts and the central home ministry before investigating agencies can secure custody or conduct interrogations inside prison facilities.