Shahzad Bhatti recruited Ghaziabad-based man to ferry explosives-laden car before Punjab blast: NIA

Pakistani terrorist-gangster Shahzad Bhatti had recruited a Ghaziabad-based man online to transport an explosives laden car from Ferozpur to Ambala in January but later told him to pull out because he was travelling with a friend, which risked compromising the plan, officials in the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said.

Pakistani-terrorist gangster Shahzad Bhatti. (FB)

The details surfaced as the anti-terrorism agency conducted its probe into a low-intensity improvised explosive device (IED) blast in a Maruti 800 outside Ambala’s Baldev Nagar police station on January 10. The Khalistan Liberation Army (KLA) claimed responsibility for the blast on Instagram, and investigations traced the account’s IP address to Pakistan.

Bhatti had recruited the 25-year-old man, Satyam, through Instagram, WhatsApp and Signal apps, to allegedly drive a vehicle loaded with explosives and LPG cylinders to Ambala, the officials said. “Satyam was even added to a Signal chat group in which other co-accused were members. He shared his photograph with the others involved in the conspiracy, who also shared their location. He had keenly agreed to take the vehicle to Ambala,” one of them said, seeking anonymity.

“However, Bhatti later asked Satyam to back out as the latter was travelling with a taxi driver friend and Bhatti didn't want to compromise the confidentiality of the plan,” the official added.

Officials earlier said investigations revealed the police station was targeted following reconnaissance of potential targets in Punjab and Haryana. NIA took over the case and filed a charge sheet against eight people, including Bhatti and Satyam, in July. It later said a Nokia phone made in Pakistan was used to trigger the blast.

“Even though Satyam did not take the car to the blast site, he was part of the terror network as he was in regular touch with Bhatti even after the explosion,” a second official said, also seeking anonymity.

In a statement issued in July, the agency said “some of the accused had parked the car, packed with gas cylinders and explosives substances, in the police station premises and even videographed the scene for dissemination and publicity”.

The others named in the charge sheet are Karamjit Singh alias Tony, Akash, Soureb alias Sobi alias Sourab, Raman Kumar, Sukhdev Singh alias Sukha and Amarjeet Singh alias Ambi.

Bhatti, aged around 45, is a resident of Lahore who is currently believed to be operating from Brazil, under the direct command of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Multiple agencies of the Indian government and states’ police have launched a crackdown on his network across the country in the past couple of months.

In September, the Shahzad Bhatti Network (SBN) was declared a terror organisation under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act or UAPA by the Union home ministry. In August, security agencies dismantled the SBN, arresting more than 200 suspects across 14 states.

NIA’s larger probe against Bhatti’s attacks on police stations and police officers in Punjab in the last couple of years revealed that he has established operational modules in India and recruited local operatives to arrange logistics and procure explosives for such attacks.

The SBN, according to intelligence agencies, used social media to contact young Indians, offering the money or jobs and drawing some recruits into activities including threats, extortion, arson and petrol bomb attacks, the officials earlier said.

• Neeraj Chauhan is a senior journalist with Hindustan Times and an investigative reporter specialising in national security, terrorism, organised crime, narcotics, corruption, financial crime and complex investigations. With over 21 years of experience across Hindustan Times, The Times of India, The Indian Express and The Pioneer, he has built deep expertise in India’s internal security and law-enforcement landscape. Neeraj has extensively covered India’s principal investigative, intelligence and security agencies, including the NIA, CBI, ED, IB, R&AW, MHA and other central security forces. His work has included deeply reported investigations into terrorism, terror financing, cross-border crime, narcotics trafficking, cybercrime, financial fraud and political and corporate corruption. He has reported on some of the most significant terror attacks and security developments in India over the past two decades, including the Delhi serial blasts, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the 2019 Pulwama terror attack and the recent Pahalgam attack. His reporting has also chronicled the rise and decline of the Indian Mujahideen, the activities and subsequent crackdown on the Popular Front of India (PFI), Islamist extremist networks, the conflict in Jammu and Kashmir, insurgencies in the Northeast and Maoist violence. Some of Neeraj’s major breaking stories are in Aryan Khan drug case, Sushant Singh Rajput suicide, interception of a 3,000-kg Afghan heroin consignment worth about ₹21,000 crore at Mundra port, Sri Lanka easter bombings, Aarushi-Hemraj murders in Noida, 2G scam, coal block allocation scam, AgustWestland VVIP chopper deal and major bank frauds and extradition cases involving Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya. His reporting is marked by an ability to cultivate sources, analyse confidential and complex documents, and follow investigations over several years—from the initial breakthrough to chargesheets, trials and international legal proceedings. He specialises in making complicated security and investigative developments accessible while examining their wider implications for governance and public policy. A Chevening South Asia Journalism Programme Fellow at the University of Westminster, Neeraj also spent time at the Financial Times as part of the fellowship. He was also a Robert Bosch Media Ambassadors India-Germany Fellow, studying at the University of Tübingen and working with Der Tagesspiegel in Berlin. He has previously taught investigative journalism and crime reporting as a guest faculty member at the Times School of Journalism. Over more than two decades, Neeraj has established himself as an authoritative voice on India’s national security and investigative landscape, with his reporting closely followed by officials, investigators, lawyers, policymakers and readers seeking insight into some of the country’s most complex and consequential developments.Read More