New Delhi: Over 200 operatives of the ISI-backed terror group Shahzad Bhatti Network (SBN) were arrested ahead of Independence Day, thwarting its plans to launch subversive attacks in India, Union Home Minister Amit Shah informed on Monday.
Displaying zero-tolerance towards terrorism, India’s security forces “ripped apart” the Pakistan-based network by launching coordinated operations across multiple locations in 14 states, Shah said in a post on X.
There were substantial recoveries of IEDs, grenades bearing Pakistan Ordnance Factory markings, pistols, live cartridges and CCTV cameras used for espionage.
The Home minister said the Shahzad Bhatti Network was involved in several terrorist activities.
According to New Delhi, the Pakistan-based terror syndicate is linked to grenade, IED and petrol bomb attacks and targeted killings across India.
“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 said in a statement.
Over 200 arrests were made during the operation in 14 states, including Uttar Pradesh (62), Haryana (52), Delhi (51), Punjab (44), Rajasthan (15), Maharashtra (8), Uttarakhand (5), Karnataka, Gujarat and Bihar (3 each), and Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, J&K and Kerala (2 each) with fresh FIRs registered in Delhi and Karnataka.
“Cumulatively, over 80 FIRs and 200-plus arrests have been recorded against SBN under UAPA, BNS, the Arms Act, NDPS Act and Explosive Substances Act,” the Centre said.
SBN’s modus operandi is to hire local conduits to recce police, defence and religious sites, and install CCTV cameras for espionage.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is investigating a number of cases against Bhatti, including an alleged link to the March 2025 grenade attack at social media influencer Roger Sandhu’s Jalandhar home. Four months ago, NIA chargesheeted Bhatti as an absconder, and one other person accused in the case.
Bhatti also masterminded the November 2025 explosion at the all-women police station in Haryana’s Sirsa and the January 2026 blast at Baldev Nagar police station in Ambala.
In the Sirsa case, NIA chargesheeted nine individuals, including Bhatti and another Pakistan-based handler Sohail Ahmad alias Sohail Baloch, in May 2026.