Kashmir Impulse Desk
New Delhi, Aug 17
Indian security agencies detained 253 people across 14 states in a coordinated crackdown on a Pakistan-based militant network ahead of Independence Day, Home Minister Amit Shah said on Monday, as authorities moved to disrupt plans for attacks and espionage.
Shah said the operation on August 12 targeted the Shahzad Bhatti Network (SBN), a Pakistan-based and ISI-backed syndicate, involved in grenade and improvised explosive device attacks, petrol-bomb attacks and targeted killings.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led 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,” Shah said in a post on X.
He said the coordinated action across 14 states demonstrated the government’s policy of “zero tolerance” towards terrorism.
The largest number of detentions was reported in Uttar Pradesh, where 62 people were held, followed by Haryana with 52, Delhi with 51 and Punjab with 44.
Rajasthan accounted for 15 detentions, Maharashtra eight, Uttarakhand five, while Karnataka, Gujarat and Bihar reported three each.
Two people each were detained in Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Kerala.
Authorities said fresh cases had been registered in Delhi and Karnataka and that more than 80 first information reports and over 200 arrests had cumulatively been recorded in cases linked to the network.
The accused have been booked under laws including India’s Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Arms Act, Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and Explosive Substances Act.
According to security agencies, the network allegedly recruited and paid local operatives to conduct reconnaissance of police installations, defence facilities, and religious sites.
Some operatives were also allegedly tasked with installing closed-circuit television cameras as part of surveillance and intelligence-gathering operations.
Security agencies said the August 12 operation was launched after intelligence indicated that the network was planning attacks around Independence Day, when security is routinely tightened across the country.
The agencies said the operation involved real-time intelligence sharing between central security organisations and state police forces.
Shah said security forces recovered improvised explosive devices, grenades bearing markings of Pakistan Ordnance Factory, pistols, live ammunition, and CCTV cameras allegedly used for espionage.
The government said the seizures pointed to the network’s cross-border connections and underscored the threat posed by Pakistan-based militant groups.
The latest arrests came as security agencies maintained heightened surveillance around Independence Day celebrations, with counter-terrorism units and state police forces conducting preventive operations across several parts of the country.
