Gurugram police are monitoring social-media accounts that feature weapons and violent imagery amid concerns that gangs operating from abroad may use online contact to recruit local youths, The Times of India reported on Saturday.

Source: The Times of India (via VN News Now)

Under Operation Ankush, launched on September 9, police say they have scanned 2,251 Instagram accounts and identified 57 young people they consider vulnerable to gang influence. Of those, 24 were made to post apology videos, according to the newspaper. Mirror Now, reporting the same operation, put the scanned accounts at over 2,200 and the identified youths at 57.

Source: Mirror Now

How police say the recruitment works

Police sources told the newspaper that gang associates may approach young people after noticing their profiles, using comments, reactions or direct messages. In one case described by police, a 22-year-old man was visited by officers after posting a video of himself holding a gun in his father's jewellery shop.

2,251Instagram accounts scanned under Operation Ankush (police via TOI)
57young people identified as vulnerable (police)
24youths made to post apology videos (police)
September 9date Operation Ankush was launched

Gurugram Police Commissioner Sibash Kabiraj said the operation aims to keep young people away from gangsters and crime. Police warn that displaying firearms online can draw the attention of organised crime groups looking for local recruits — a claim made by the police, which the force says its monitoring is meant to counter.

The figures and the recruitment account above are as reported by Gurugram police through the two reports on November 14, 2026; no court findings are involved in the operation's counselling and warning steps.