The Special Cell of the Delhi Police has dismantled a Pakistan-backed international terror-crime syndicate, arresting seven key operatives and thwarting several planned terror incidents in Delhi-NCR .
The network was being remotely controlled by Pakistan-based gangster-turned-terrorist Shahzad Bhatti and his associate Ajmal Gujjar, who are suspected to be operating under the patronage of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) . According to police, the syndicate was involved in smuggling illegal arms, ammunition, and narcotics from Pakistan through Punjab and distributing them across the national capital region .
Five pistols, live cartridges recovered
During the operation, police recovered five sophisticated semi-automatic pistols, 41 live cartridges, seven mobile phones containing incriminating chats and voice notes linked to the handlers, and a Scorpio vehicle used by the syndicate .
The breakthrough came in mid-May when intelligence inputs indicated that Bhatti and Gujjar, acting at the behest of the ISI, were planning attacks in Delhi-NCR and had recruited youths through social media . Acting on the information, police apprehended Mohit alias Yogi, a resident of Loni, Ghaziabad, near the Bhagirath Water Treatment Plant in Yamuna Vihar. An illegal pistol, four live cartridges, and a mobile phone containing chats with Ajmal Gujjar were seized from him .
The arrested accused
The seven arrested individuals have been identified as Anas alias Anas Tyagi, Mohit alias Yogi, Deepak alias Deepak Agrola, Arif alias Pradhan, Karanveer Singh, Jatan, and Sabir . Several of them have criminal antecedents, including cases related to murder, dacoity, attempt to murder, and violations of the Arms Act and the NDPS Act .
During interrogation, the accused disclosed that they had been recruited by Bhatti and Gujjar to facilitate the smuggling and distribution of arms and narcotics delivered from Pakistan through drones . Police also found that the group had conducted reconnaissance of various public places and sensitive establishments in Delhi-NCR, transmitting photographs and videos to their handlers in Pakistan for operational planning . Several religious leaders in the region were also targeted as part of the plot .
‘Significant blow to ISI proxy warfare’
The Special Cell highlighted that the syndicate used social media platforms and encrypted communication channels to identify and recruit vulnerable youths by offering monetary rewards and projecting a glamorous criminal lifestyle . Transactions for weapons were allegedly executed through UPI scanner transactions using accounts linked to individuals in Dubai .
DCP (Special Cell) Narra Chaitanya stated that the timely intervention prevented several planned terror incidents, dealing a significant blow to ISI-sponsored proxy warfare being carried out through criminal-terror networks . Further investigations are underway to trace absconding accused, identify middlemen and suppliers, and uncover the full extent of the cross-border conspiracy .
