Over 200 ISI-backed Network Operatives Held: Shah
The home minister said the operation used a real-time intelligence-sharing mechanism with state police forces and was aimed at preventing subversive attacks by the ISI-linked group
NEW DELHI: Union home minister Amit Shah on Monday said security agencies had arrested more than 200 operatives of the Pakistan ISI-backed “Shahzad Bhatti Network” in a coordinated counter-terror operation across 14 states.
The operation, carried out on August 12 ahead of Independence Day, led to 253 detentions and the registration of 80 FIRs against the network under laws including the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Arms Act, the NDPS Act and the Explosive Substances Act.
The home minister said the operation used a real-time intelligence-sharing mechanism with state police forces and was aimed at preventing subversive attacks by the ISI-linked group.
“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. Indian security forces ripped apart the network by launching coordinated operations across different locations in 14 states upholding a brilliant example of India's zero-tolerance towards terrorism,” Shah said on X.
According to a statement issued by the home ministry, the Shahzad Bhatti Network had been linked to grenade attacks, improvised explosive device (IED) blasts, petrol bomb incidents and targeted killings in various parts of the country. The ministry said the outfit paid local operatives to conduct reconnaissance of police establishments, defence installations and religious sites, besides installing CCTV cameras for espionage.
Acting on a tip-off, security agencies carried out the coordinated multi-state operation on August 12 using a real-time intelligence-sharing system with state police forces.
The operation led to 253 detentions — 62 in Uttar Pradesh, 52 in Haryana, 51 in Delhi, 44 in Punjab, 15 in Rajasthan, eight in Maharashtra, five in Uttarakhand, three each in Karnataka, Gujarat and Bihar, and two each in Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Kerala.
Sources said the National Investigation Agency (NIA) was probing multiple cases against Bhatti, including his alleged link to the March 2025 grenade attack at the residence of social media influencer Roger Sandhu in Jalandhar, Punjab. The NIA had chargesheeted Bhatti as an absconder in the case in April 2026.
The anti-terror probe agency also found that Bhatti had masterminded the November 2025 explosion at the Women police station in Sirsa, Haryana, and the January 2026 blast at Baldev Nagar police station in Ambala, Haryana.
In the Sirsa case, the NIA had chargesheeted nine persons, including Bhatti and another Pakistan-based handler, Sohail Ahmad alias Sohail Baloch, in May 2026.
The Baldev Nagar police station case relates to a car bomb explosion in which one arrested accused was found to have been in touch with Bhatti.
Sources said coordinated action against the Bhatti network would continue across states as part of the government’s efforts to counter cross-border terrorism.
