Maharashtra ATS Searches 65 Locations in Pune District in Probe of Alleged Online Radicalisation Network
Mumbai, March 8: The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Tuesday conducted searches at 65 locations in Pune district and the surrounding Pune Metropolitan Region, as part of an ongoing investigation into an alleged online network that is suspected of being backed by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency. The operation involved officials from the Pune city police, Pimpri Chinchwad police, and Pune rural police, according to ATS officers.
The searches follow a larger operation conducted three days ago, during which the ATS searched nearly 200 locations across Maharashtra. An ATS officer said that the earlier searches did not cover Pune, while Tuesday's operation focused exclusively on the district. The officer added that the investigation targets individuals suspected of being in contact with online handlers based in Pakistan who are believed to identify and exploit people expressing grievances against Indian authorities.
According to ATS officials, the handlers initially assign minor tasks to test and indoctrinate recruits. Those who continue to engage are later entrusted with larger assignments that could pose a security threat. The network is alleged to include several Pakistan-based gangsters, including Shahzad Bhatti, Amjal Gujjar, Abit Jat, Rana Husen, Abdul Memon, Munna Jhingada, Farooq Khokar, Zafar Supari, Shani Tiger, Sheikh Salman, and Sarfaraz Dongar alias Jorasingh. Officials claim these individuals use social media platforms to recruit vulnerable youths in India.
The investigation has also drawn attention to previous actions involving the same network. In May last year, the ATS conducted searches at around 40 locations across the state and questioned more than 55 individuals who were allegedly in contact with social media accounts linked to Shahzad Bhatti's network. In Pune, at least four people from Chakan, Warje, and Shirur were questioned, and their mobile phones were seized for analysis. No first information reports were registered against them at that time.
Officials also cited an operation by the Delhi Police Special Cell last month, which led to the arrest of nine people from Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, and Jammu and Kashmir for their alleged links to Bhatti's network. Investigators claimed the accused were planning attacks on targets including a historic temple in Delhi and a military installation in Haryana, as well as plotting to use drones to drop drugs and weapons near the Punjab border.
The article also notes that Bhatti was previously investigated in connection with a grenade attack near the residence of YouTuber Rozer Sandhu in Jalandhar in March 2024. He is allegedly known to have close ties with Zeeshan Akhtar, a member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and an accused in the October 2024 murder of former minister Baba Siddique in Mumbai. According to officials, the relationship between Bhatti and Bishnoi is believed to have soured after Bishnoi made anti-Pakistan statements following the Pahalgam terrorist attack last year.
The ATS has not yet registered any new cases in connection with Tuesday's searches, and it remains unclear whether any arrests have been made. The investigation is ongoing.
