The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Saturday conducted simultaneous searches in 10 districts as part of a major crackdown on the alleged local network of Pakistan-based gangster-turned-terrorist Shahzad Bhatti, officials said.
The operation, spread across several western UP districts and areas along the Indo-Nepal border, targeted suspected local facilitators and associates allegedly linked to Bhatti’s network. Around six suspects have been detained so far, officials said.
A senior police official confirmed that ATS teams searched the premises of the suspects and seized digital devices, documents and other material. Investigators are examining the suspects’ alleged financial, communication and logistical links with Bhatti and are trying to identify other members of the network, officials said.
The searches come days after the Union home ministry designated the Pakistan-backed Shahzad Bhatti Network (SBN) as a terrorist organisation under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). In a gazette notification issued on September 16 under Section 35(1)(a) of the UAPA, the ministry added SBN to the First Schedule of the Act, making it the 46th organisation on the list.
The ministry said the network was involved in the cross-border smuggling of arms, explosives and narcotics and in recruiting and radicalising Indian youth and local criminals for terrorist activities. It also accused the group of using digital platforms to spread provocative and hateful content and attempting to disrupt communal harmony and India’s democratic structure.
{{/usCountry}}The ministry said the network was involved in the cross-border smuggling of arms, explosives and narcotics and in recruiting and radicalising Indian youth and local criminals for terrorist activities. It also accused the group of using digital platforms to spread provocative and hateful content and attempting to disrupt communal harmony and India’s democratic structure.
{{/usCountry}}The latest ATS searches are aimed at establishing the ground-level support structure allegedly enabling the network to operate in Uttar Pradesh.
Earlier, investigations by the UP Police had alleged that Pakistan-based handlers used social media platforms to contact young Indians, offering them money or jobs before allegedly drawing some of them into criminal activities, including threats, extortion, arson and petrol-bomb attacks.
Security agencies detained 253 people across 14 states in August, including 62 in Uttar Pradesh, 52 in Haryana, 51 in Delhi and 44 in Punjab, according to officials. The Centre later said more than 80 FIRs had been registered and over 200 people arrested in cases involving SBN members.
Who is Shahzad Bhatti?
The Centre has designated Shahzad Bhatti, 45, a Lahore resident, as a terrorist. Indian agencies allege that he operates a cross-border criminal-terror network involved in arms and narcotics smuggling and has links with criminal networks in India. Intelligence officials have alleged that he has the backing of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence and operates from different locations. He is currently believed to be in Dubai.