Punjab Police launches ‘Operation KAWACH’ to protect students from drugs, harassment
Anonymous QR Codes, Peer Support Groups to Enable Early Intervention in Educational Institutions
Babushahi Network
Khanna (Punjab0, October 9, 2026: The Punjab Police on Friday launched ‘Operation KAWACH’, a student-centric preventive policing initiative aimed at protecting young people from drugs, harassment and other safety concerns through peer support networks and confidential reporting mechanisms.
Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Ludhiana Range, Sandeep Goel launched the initiative at Gulzar Group of Institutions in Khanna. The programme is the brainchild of Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Khanna, Dr Darpan Ahluwalia.
The initiative follows a three-pillar model — Connect, Detect and Protect — to encourage students to support one another, identify potential risks at an early stage and seek timely assistance from designated civil and police mentors.
Addressing the gathering, DIG Goel said drug-related networks could expand through peer groups, with one person’s substance use potentially drawing others into addiction and, in some cases, illicit supply networks.
He said Operation KAWACH sought to reverse this pattern by turning peer groups into support systems where concerns could be identified early and help made accessible before problems escalated into addiction or crime.
Anonymous QR Codes for Confidential Reporting
Explaining the initiative, SSP Dr Ahluwalia said the ‘Connect’ component would encourage students to form peer groups that could develop into support networks linked with designated civil and police mentors.
The ‘Detect’ component introduces ‘KAWACH QR Codes’ across educational institutions, allowing students to report concerns anonymously through three options:
- ‘I need help’ — for students facing difficulties themselves.
- ‘I am worried about someone’ — for those concerned about a friend or fellow student.
- ‘I want to report something’ — to flag suspected drug activity, harassment, unsafe surroundings or other concerns.
The third component, ‘Protect’, focuses on timely intervention. Information received through the mechanism will be channelled to designated civil and police mentors for an appropriate response.
“A student may hesitate to walk into a police station, but they will readily scan a QR code to seek help or flag an issue anonymously,” Dr Ahluwalia said, adding that the initiative aimed to reach students before drugs could affect their lives.
Focus on Prevention and Peer Support
Operation KAWACH seeks to move beyond a primarily reactive approach to drug enforcement by creating accessible channels through which students can seek help for themselves or raise concerns about others.
The initiative is intended to strengthen coordination between students, educational institutions, civil administration and the police, enabling concerns to be addressed before they escalate.
Superintendent of Police (Headquarters), Khanna, Harpinder Kaur Gill; Superintendent of Police (Investigation), Khanna, Rakesh Kumar Yadav; college management representatives, faculty members, students, and the district and three constituency coordinators of the ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’ campaign attended the launch.