New Delhi: With the BRICS Summit underway in the national capital, security agencies have been directed to heighten vigilance after intelligence inputs, for the first time, explicitly identified Pakistan-based alleged ISI handler Shahzad Bhatti in a formal threat assessment submitted to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
Sources said intelligence agencies have cautioned that Bhatti’s network may try to carry out low-intensity attacks or disruptive activities in Delhi and its surrounding areas during BRICS Summit 2026.
Acting on the advisory, the MHA has instructed security agencies in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to step up surveillance, monitor suspicious movements, track online recruitment drives, watch for attempts to procure weapons and keep an eye on reconnaissance of critical installations, the sources said.
Grenade Attacks, Targeted Firing Feared
Security agencies have also been told to stay alert for possible targeted firing, grenade attacks or other low-level disruptive acts, according to the sources. A 360-degree watch is being kept on suspected local conduits who could be activated by the ISI-backed network., as reported by The New India Express.
Intelligence officials believe that even small-scale attacks could be intended to create panic, divert security resources or test the response of law enforcement agencies during the high-profile summit, as reported by The New India Express.
This threat advisory follows a sweeping, multi-state operation conducted weeks earlier against what authorities have called the ISI-supported Shahzad Bhatti Network (SBN).
253 Arrested In 14 States
On August 12, security forces launched synchronised raids in 14 states, picking up 253 individuals in an intelligence-driven exercise aimed at foiling suspected plans to create disturbances around Independence Day, the MHA said.
The crackdown spanned Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Gujarat, Bihar, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Kerala.
Officials said the searches yielded improvised explosive devices, grenades marked with Pakistan Ordnance Factory insignia, handguns, live ammunition and CCTV equipment purportedly used for spying.
So far, more than 80 FIRs have been registered and over 200 people arrested in connection with the network, with probes proceeding under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Arms Act, NDPS Act and Explosive Substances Act.
In a statement, the MHA labelled the SBN a Pakistan-based, ISI-aided terror outfit allegedly involved in grenade blasts, IED explosions, petrol-bomb attacks and targeted killings on Indian soil. It also accused network members of hiring local agents to scout police, defence and religious locations and to plant CCTV cameras for surveillance.
Even after the large-scale crackdown, security agencies fear that sleeper cells or sympathisers may try to rebuild parts of the network. With Delhi under tightened security for the BRICS Summit, authorities are treating any bid to cause disruption as a possible attempt to exploit gaps and overburden the security grid, sources said.