Over the past two years, the name of a social-media influencer from Pakistan has been surfacing in several terror-related investigations in India.
Those arrested were poorly educated, economically vulnerable individuals recruited via social media for money, lured with the promise of relocating to the Gulf, or for resolving personal issues. He later recruited some of them to throw grenades or plant explosives near critical installations. The payments, often originating from Central Asian countries, were transferred directly to bank accounts.
On September 16, the Union Home Ministry designated the ‘Shahzad Bhatti Network’ (SBN) as a terrorist group under the UAPA. Over 200 suspects, linked to the SBN, were detained or arrested in a countrywide counter-terror operation ahead of Independence Day. Several of his Instagram accounts, which always end in ‘333 ’, have been flagged by security agencies. Before the pre-Independence Day pan-India raids and arrests against the SBN, Delhi Police had blocked 125 Instagram accounts related to Bhatti. Since October 2025, the police have registered 15 FIRs and arrested 69 accused, two-thirds from Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. A Uttar Pradesh police officer said Bhatti contacted young men who engaged with his social media posts and offered them ₹5,000-₹10,000 to put up posters carrying his images in public places to project him as a gangster and instil fear.
The Ministry said in a notification that through its terrorist activities, the outfit poses a “serious threat to the democratic system, communal harmony, and internal security of the country”. Security officials said he has graduated from “organised crimes” to “terror-related activities” over the past year and was tapped by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), considering his reach among Indians through social media.
