ISI-backed Shahzad Bhatti terror network busted; 253 detained across 14 states

NEW DELHI: Security agencies have busted the Pakistan-based, ISI-backed Shahzad Bhatti Network (SBN) ahead of Independence Day, thwarting plans for subversive attacks, with 253 people detained across 14 states, the Union Home Ministry said on Monday. The crackdown was carried out on August 12 through coordinated operations at multiple locations, using a real-time intelligence-sharing system in coordination with state police forces. The action was part of the Centre's “zero tolerance” policy towards cross-border terrorism.

The network has been linked to grenade, improvised explosive device (IED) and petrol bomb attacks as well as targeted killings across India, according to the Home Ministry. It had also been paying local operatives to conduct reconnaissance of police, defence and religious sites and install CCTV cameras for espionage. The coordinated raids resulted in the recovery of IEDs, grenades bearing Pakistan Ordnance Factory markings, pistols, live cartridges and CCTV cameras used for espionage, the ministry said. The recoveries, it added, confirmed the network's direct cross-border links.

The 253 detentions were reported from 14 states. Uttar Pradesh accounted for the highest number at 62, followed by Haryana with 52, Delhi with 51 and Punjab with 44. Rajasthan accounted for 15 detentions, Maharashtra eight and Uttarakhand five. Karnataka, Gujarat and Bihar recorded three detentions each, while Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Kerala recorded two each. Fresh FIRs were also registered in Delhi and Karnataka in connection with the operation.

Cumulatively, more than 80 FIRs have been registered against the Shahzad Bhatti Network and more than 200 arrests have been recorded under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Arms Act, Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Explosive Substances Act, according to the Home Ministry. Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the coordinated operations had dismantled the ISI-backed terror network and thwarted its plans for subversive attacks ahead of Independence Day. He described the action across 14 states as an example of the government's zero-tolerance approach towards terrorism.