New Delhi: A multi-state security operation carried out days before Independence Day has led to the arrest of more than 200 operatives allegedly linked to the Pakistan-based Shahzad Bhatti Network, with investigators recovering explosives, weapons and surveillance equipment in what the government described as a major disruption of the group’s plans.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Monday that coordinated operations across 14 states had dismantled the network’s preparations for subversive attacks. The operation was conducted on August 12 through a real-time intelligence-sharing system involving central and state police forces.
In a message on ‘X’, the Home Minister said, “Modi government 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,” he said.
The scale of the operation becomes clearer from the state-wise figures. Uttar Pradesh accounted for the highest number of arrests at 62, followed by Haryana with 52 and Delhi with 51. Punjab recorded 44 arrests, while Rajasthan had 15. Maharashtra saw eight arrests, Uttarakhand five, and Karnataka, Gujarat and Bihar three each. Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Kerala recorded two arrests each.
The operation also produced recoveries that investigators say point directly towards the network’s cross-border links. These included improvised explosive devices, grenades carrying Pakistan Ordnance Factory markings, pistols and live ammunition. CCTV cameras allegedly used to conduct surveillance and reconnaissance of potential targets were also recovered.
According to the government, the Shahzad Bhatti Network has been linked to grenade, IED and petrol bomb attacks as well as targeted killings. Its operatives allegedly paid local conduits to conduct reconnaissance of police, defence and religious sites and install cameras for espionage.
The National Investigation Agency has been pursuing multiple cases involving Shahzad Bhatti. In April 2026, it chargesheeted Bhatti as an absconder along with another accused. The agency has also alleged that he masterminded the November 2025 explosion at the Women Police Station in Sirsa and the January 2026 blast at Baldev Nagar police station in Ambala.
In the Sirsa case, the NIA chargesheeted nine people in May 2026, including Bhatti and Pakistan-based handler Sohail Ahmad alias Sohail Baloch. The Ambala case concerns a car bomb explosion in which an arrested accused was found to have been in contact with Bhatti.
The NIA is also probing Bhatti’s alleged connection to the March 2025 grenade attack at the residence of social media influencer Roger Sandhu in Jalandhar, Punjab.
The government said the latest operation has resulted in more than 80 FIRs and over 200 arrests under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Arms Act, Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Explosive Substances Act.
“To counter SBN-linked disruptions planned around Independence Day, a coordinated multi-state operation was carried out on August 12 using a real-time intelligence-sharing system with State Police forces,” the government statement said.
The authorities said the operation is part of continuing efforts to dismantle the network rather than a one-time sweep, with agencies maintaining surveillance and intelligence coordination across states.
“Security agencies reaffirm the Government of India’s zero tolerance for cross-border terror and continued coordinated action to dismantle SBN’s networks nationwide,” it said.
With the arrests, the immediate Independence Day threat attributed to the network has been disrupted, while the investigations now move towards tracing the wider chain of handlers, financiers, local operatives and surveillance networks allegedly supporting it
