The Shahzad Bhatti network, operating under Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), has been actively recruiting Indian youth for anti-India activities, with a strong focus on Uttar Pradesh. While investigations have expanded to Delhi and Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh remains the primary area of operation for Bhatti, with nine out of 20 arrested individuals hailing from the state.
Recently, the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) apprehended Sharon Ahmad, a 29-year-old dropout, for his involvement in the network. Ahmad was lured with financial incentives to gather sensitive information and recruit and radicalize young individuals through social media platforms.
The Bhatti network, along with its recruiters, is intensively targeting Uttar Pradesh to build a social media army that will further recruit individuals for various tasks like targeted killings, surveillance, and online radicalization. Specifically focusing on the state’s western region, the network exploits digital vulnerabilities and strategic geographical proximity to national targets.
With a keen eye on social media, the syndicate aims to recruit vulnerable youth aged 25 to 30 by disseminating provocative and extremist content. Leveraging the region’s massive youth population and expanding smartphone network, the network strategically plans its recruitment activities, initially assigning minor roles like recording local infrastructure and mapping public facilities to avoid detection by security agencies.
Exploiting economic vulnerabilities, the Bhatti network recruits members willing to carry out tasks for minimal payments, as low as Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000. Despite seemingly insignificant assignments, the network’s long-term objectives include facilitating arms and ammunition smuggling operations and planning anti-India activities.
The recruitment drive in Uttar Pradesh, particularly in Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Ghaziabad, and Noida, focuses on areas near the national capital with strong transport links for operational ease. The Uttar Pradesh module is tasked with gathering detailed information on the railway network, including sensitive operational details, to disrupt operations in Delhi and neighboring regions.
