Mohali police arrest 158 proclaimed offenders

Mohali police just wrapped an 11-month campaign aimed at one very specific problem — people who were declared proclaimed offenders and then stayed out of reach of the courts. In plain English, these are accused people who did not show up and were formally marked as absconding. The district says it resolved 255 such cases from June 1, 2025 to April 30, 2026, with 158 arrests at the center of that count. The move matters because Mohali had built up a huge backlog of these fugitives, and police had already admitted last year that the number ran into the hundreds. (newsable.asianetnews.com) ### What exactly happened? The district police in SAS Nagar — better known as Mohali — said all police stations and dedicated PO teams were involved in a sustained crackdown that ran for nearly a year. Senior superintendent Harmandeep Singh Hans(newsable.asianetnews.com)had been cleared in one form or another. (newsable.asianetnews.com) ### What is a proclaimed offender? This is not just a casual police label. It is a court-linked status used when an accused person keeps evading legal process. In this campaign, police said some offenders had been declared under Sections 82 and (newsable.asianetnews.com)Section 299 of the old code, now Section 335 of the BNSS. Basically, these are people the system says should be in court, but are not. (newsable.asianetnews.com) ### Where does the 255 figure come from? The 255 is broader than arrests alone. Police say 158 offenders were arrested. Another 20 were removed from the list because their cases were disposed of — through conviction, acquittal, or quashing. And (newsable.asianetnews.com) That distinction matters. (hindustantimes.com) ### Were these all serious crimes? Not all of them. Police said eight of the targeted offenders were tied to serious criminal cases, while 10 were linked to cheque-bounce matters. That mix tells you something useful — this was not only a hunt for violent fugitives. It was also an administrative push to reduce a pileup of unresolved court-evaders across very different kinds of cases. (newsable.asianetnews.com) ### Why does this stand out now? Because Mohali’s backlog was already unusually large. In July 2025, a report said the district had found more than 800 proclaimed offenders, with some allegedly evading the law for as long as 25 years. By mid-Feb(newsable.asianetnews.com)inued through the end of April. (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) ### Does this mean the backlog is gone? No — and that is the catch. Clearing 255 cases is a big administrative and policing push, but it does not mean every absconder has been found or every old case has vanished. Some names came (timesofindia.indiatimes.com)ast step is still harder. (newsable.asianetnews.com) ### Why should anyone outside Mohali care? Because proclaimed offenders are one of those quiet indicators of whether the justice system is actually functioning. A city can register cases, file papers, and hold hearings, but if accused people can(newsable.asianetnews.com)task. It is part enforcement, part bookkeeping, and both pieces matter. (newsable.asianetnews.com) ### Bottom line? The headline number is 158 arrests, but the real story is the larger cleanup of 255 long-pending proclaimed-offender cases in one district over 11 months. Mohali police are trying to shrink a backlog that had grown embarrassingly large. They made a visible dent. But a dent is not the same thing as closure. (newsable.asianetnews.com)