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253 arrested from 14 states: Govt smashes ISI's Shahzad Bhatti terror web ahead of I-Day

Mahim Gupta
Early Times Report

Jammu, Aug 17: In a sweeping blow to Pakistan's terror machinery, security agencies have torn through the ISI-backed Shahzad Bhatti network in a coordinated, multi-state operation, detaining 253 people across 14 states and seizing a cache of weapons and espionage equipment just days before Independence Day.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah confirmed the operation, declaring that the Modi government had dismantled the network and foiled its plans to trigger unrest around the national celebration. "Modi govt destroyed the ISI-backed terror group Shahzad Bhatti Network ahead of Independence Day and thwarted its plans for subversive attacks by arresting more than 200 operatives," Shah posted, calling it a demonstration of India's zero-tolerance policy on terrorism.
The raids, executed on August 12 through a real-time intelligence-sharing grid working in tandem with state police forces, ripped through the network's operatives simultaneously across the country — a coordinated strike designed to leave no room for the group to regroup or retaliate.
The Shahzad Bhatti Network is no ordinary criminal outfit — it is a Pakistan-based, ISI-backed terror syndicate accused of orchestrating grenade attacks, IED strikes, petrol-bomb assaults and targeted killings across India. Investigators allege the network paid local operatives to conduct reconnaissance on police installations, defence establishments and religious sites, and to install covert CCTV cameras for espionage purposes.
Among the detentions: Uttar Pradesh led with 62, followed by Haryana (52), Delhi (51) and Punjab (44). Rajasthan recorded 15 detentions, Maharashtra 8, and Uttarakhand 5, while Karnataka, Gujarat and Bihar logged 3 each. Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Kerala saw 2 detentions apiece. Fresh FIRs were also filed in Delhi and Karnataka as the crackdown widened.
Cumulatively, agencies have now registered more than 80 FIRs and made over 200 arrests linked to the network, invoking the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Arms Act, NDPS Act and Explosive Substances Act — a legal arsenal reflecting the gravity of the alleged crimes.
The recoveries paint a chilling picture of the network's cross-border ambitions: IEDs, grenades bearing Pakistan Ordnance Factory markings, pistols, live cartridges, and CCTV cameras allegedly deployed for espionage. Officials say the ordnance markings offer direct evidence of the network's links to Pakistan's military-industrial supply chain.
Security agencies have reaffirmed the government's zero-tolerance stance on cross-border terrorism, vowing sustained, coordinated operations to hunt down remaining cells of the network nationwide.
Closer to the network's alleged epicentre of influence, security agencies in Jammu and Kashmir have sharpened surveillance on several high-profile local gangsters suspected of maintaining ties with Dubai-based gangster-turned-terror operative Shahzad Bhatti — accused of smuggling narcotics into the Union Territory while bankrolling anti-national activities.
J&K Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat issued a blunt warning to Bhatti, branding him an ISI accomplice actively working to flood India with narcotics. "A warning to Pakistan-based Shahzad Bhatti, who is ISI's acolyte and partner in pumping narcotics into India; we will hunt and hound you and your associates, and decimate your evil infrastructure," Prabhat declared.