MUMBAI, May 13: The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Wednesday carried out raids at more than 40 locations across the state, including Mumbai, targeting persons who were in contact with Pakistan-based gangster Shahzad Bhatti, officials said. At least 53 persons were being questioned, they said.
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Bhatti, who operated his gang from abroad, was allegedly trying to influence youth in India towards anti-national activities through social media, an official said.
The raids were being conducted since morning in Mumbai, Akola, Nanded, Pune, Mira Road (in Thane district), Nallasopara (Palghar district), Nashik, Jalgaon, Nagpur and various other places in the State, he said.
The ATS had specific information about suspicious activities of some persons, who were allegedly in contact with Bhatti and his syndicate, he said.
Fifty-three such individuals were identified across the state, and inquiries were being conducted after tracing their locations, he said. Last week, investigators found that Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI had allegedly planned attacks on a historic temple in Delhi, a popular dhaba on the Delhi-Sonipat highway and a military camp in Haryana through operatives linked to the Shahzad Bhatti module.
The revelations emerged during the interrogation of nine alleged operatives of the module arrested by the Delhi Police Special Cell under their ‘Gang Bust Operation 2.0’ from multiple states, sources had said.
The Delhi Police recently arrested 482 alleged gangsters and associates, including nine operatives linked to Bhatti, during a 48-hour operation targeting organised crime syndicates and their support networks from May 5 to 7 across the national capital, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
According to the police, the accused were tasked with carrying out random firing at security personnel in north India and the Delhi-NCR region. Some of them were allegedly involved in arms trafficking for the Shahzad Bhatti network. (PTI)
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