Operation Aaghat 3.0: Inside Delhi Police’s Massive New Year Crackdown

As the national capital prepares for New Year's Eve celebrations, the Delhi Police executed a massive, synchronized purge of the city's criminal underbelly. On the intervening night of December 26-27, 2025, the South East District police launched "Operation Aaghat 3.0," a targeted crackdown resulting in the formal arrest of 285 individuals and the preventive detention of over 1,300 suspects. The operation, designed to "sanitize" the streets before the December 31st festivities, yielded a disturbing haul of weaponry, including 21 country-made pistols and dozens of knives, signaling a potential spike in armed violence that authorities claim to have preempted.

The Context (How We Got Here)

"Aaghat 3.0" is the largest iteration of a new tactical strategy adopted by the Delhi Police in late 2025. Following the success of Aaghat 1.0 in September (which saw 70 arrests), the force has moved toward high-intensity, short-duration sweeps to disrupt local crime syndicates. This specific operation comes just a month after the Special Cell busted an ISI-linked arms racket in November, which revealed a steady pipeline of foreign-grade weapons filtering into the city. The timing is deliberate: authorities aimed to dismantle supply chains of illicit liquor and arms right before the peak demand of New Year's Eve.

The Key Players (Who & So What)

DCP Hemant Tiwari (South East Delhi): The operational lead. He described the sweep as a "preventive and deterrent exercise," emphasizing that the goal was not just to catch criminals, but to send a visible message of dominance to street-level gangs.
Hashim Baba (Jailed Gangster): The supply link. While not arrested in this specific sweep, his shadow looms large. Recent interrogations linked his network to the flow of illegal firearms from Tihar Jail to the streets, a supply chain confirmed by the seizure of 21 pistols in a single night.
The "Bad Characters" (BCs): The targets. Police focused on individuals listed as "BCs" in station records—repeat offenders and parolees who were rounded up en masse to prevent recidivism during the holidays.

The BIGSTORY Reframe

While mainstream coverage applauds the "safety drive," the deeper story is the "Shadow Arsenal" exposed by the data. Finding 21 illegal pistols in one district in one night is not a success; it is a warning. It implies that South East Delhi is awash with "kattas" (country-made firearms). If a single preventive sweep can recover this much firepower, the actual volume of illegal arms in circulation is likely exponentially higher.

Furthermore, the scale of the operation—1,306 detentions—suggests the use of Algorithmic Policing. Delhi Police utilizes the Crime Mapping Analytics and Predictive System (CMAPS). This wasn't a random dragnet; it was likely a data-driven targeted strike on specific "hotspots" identified by AI as vulnerable to New Year's violence. This moves the narrative from "beat policing" to "predictive suppression."

The Implications (Why This Changes Things)

For the immediate future, South East Delhi residents can expect a heavy police presence and checkpoints through January 1, 2026. However, the operation highlights a shifting strategy: rather than reacting to crimes, the Delhi Police is actively preempting them by physically removing the "usual suspects" from the equation during high-risk windows.

The Closing Question (Now, Think About This)

If police can seize 21 guns in a single night just by looking, how many weapons remain hidden in the pockets of those they didn't catch?

FAQs

What is Operation Aaghat 3.0 by Delhi Police?

Operation Aaghat 3.0 was a massive, synchronized preventive crackdown launched by the Delhi Police on the night of December 26-27, 2025. Focused on the South East District, it aimed to preempt crime ahead of New Year's celebrations, resulting in 285 formal arrests and over 1,300 detentions.

How many weapons did Delhi Police seize in December 2025?

During Operation Aaghat 3.0 alone, the police seized 21 country-made pistols, 27 knives, and various quantities of ammunition. This was part of a larger effort to remove illegal arms from circulation before the holiday festivities.

Why were people arrested in Delhi before New Year 2026?

The arrests were part of a "preventive and deterrent exercise" to ensure law and order during New Year's Eve. Police targeted listed "Bad Characters" (repeat offenders), bootleggers, and illegal arms dealers to prevent them from causing public disturbances or violence during the celebrations.

Sources

News Coverage

Context & Background

Counter-Terrorism Delhi

Brajesh Mishra Associate Editor

Brajesh Mishra is an Associate Editor at BIGSTORY NETWORK, specializing in daily news from India with a keen focus on AI, technology, and the automobile sector. He brings sharp editorial judgment and a passion for delivering accurate, engaging, and timely stories to a diverse audience.