Union home minister Amit Shah on Monday announced dismantling an ISI-backed terror network, led by Shahzad Bhatti, with the arrest of over 200 terror suspects and detention of 253 more operatives in a coordinated operation across 14 states just ahead of Independence Day .
Shahzad Bhatti Network (SBN) is a Pakistan-based, ISI-backed terror syndicate linked to grenades, IEDs and petrol bomb attacks and targeted killings across India. Agencies and police across 14 states registered a total 80 first information reports (FIRs) and recovered improvised explosive devices (IEDs), grenades bearing Pakistan Ordnance Factory markings, pistols, live cartridges and espionage CCTVs — confirming the network’s direct cross-border links.
Sharing details on the operation, carried out on August 12, the ministry of home affairs said in a statement that a coordinated multi-state operation was carried out “using a real-time intelligence-sharing system with state police forces”. The syndicate has also been paying local conduits to recce police, defence and religious sites, and to install CCTV cameras for espionage, the ministry of home affairs said in a statement.
Wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Bhatti has emerged as a key figure in several investigations related to terror attacks, organised crimes and online radicalisation and recruitment of youngsters in India in the past couple of years.
