New Delhi: Indian security agencies have foiled an alleged plot to carry out attacks around Independence Day, after coordinated searches across multiple states led to more than 200 arrests, the Centre said.
Officials said the network was linked to Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI and to a Pakistan-based operative identified as Shahzad Bhatti, who is believed to be operating from the UAE. Bhatti reportedly has a large following on Facebook and Instagram, including some users from India.
Investigators allege that Indian youths who liked or commented on his posts were monitored and later contacted individually, with some being recruited for anti-national activities. Some were allegedly paid Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 to paste posters carrying his photograph, while others were assigned tasks such as surveillance of key locations and handling explosives.
Based on inputs that Bhatti’s associates could strike on Independence Day, searches were conducted on August 12 in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Karnataka, among other states. During the operations, agencies seized IEDs, grenades bearing markings linked to Pakistan’s arms factories, firearms, ammunition, petrol bombs, surveillance cameras and SIM cards.
More than 80 cases have been registered under anti-terror, arms and narcotics laws, officials said. The NIA has also alleged Bhatti’s role in earlier incidents, including a grenade attack in Jalandhar in March 2025 and blasts in Sirsa (2025) and near Ambala police station in January this year; he was listed as an absconding accused in April 2026.
