Delhi Police bust ISI-linked terror-crime ring
The Delhi Police Special Cell has broken up an international terror-crime group led by Shahzad Bhatti and his main associate, Ajmal Gujjar. Authorities claim Bhatti, an ISI proxy, runs cross-border operations from Pakistan that mix organised crime, drug trafficking, and targeted attacks to keep low-level conflict going in India. Investigators found the group was heavily involved in smuggling illegal weapons, ammunition, and drugs from Pakistan.
These shipments went through Punjab before reaching Delhi and the NCR, where they were used for criminal and terror activities.
DCP Special Cell Narra Chaitanya confirmed that a dedicated team of the Eastern Range carried out the operation. “The timely intervention by Special Cell disrupted the activities of this organised module and prevented several planned terror incidents,” Chaitanya said.
The syndicate trafficked illegal arms, ammunition, and narcotic substances from Pakistan through Punjab into Delhi and the NCR. In mid-May 2026, Special Cell received specific intelligence that Shahzad Bhatti, working with Ajmal Gujjar at the behest of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence, was planning attacks in Delhi-NCR through youths recruited via social media. Acting on this intelligence, Mohit, a resident of Loni in Ghaziabad, was apprehended near the Bhagirath Water Treatment Plant in Yamuna Vihar. One illegal pistol, four live cartridges, and a mobile phone containing incriminating chats with Gujjar were recovered from him.
Mohit’s interrogation led investigators to associates Anas, Arif, and Karanveer Singh, who had allegedly been recruited to facilitate the smuggling and distribution of weapons and narcotics trafficked from Pakistan, including through drone deliveries. Anas’s interrogation revealed that Bhatti and Gujjar had directed the group to conduct reconnaissance of potential targets, including public places, to create fear and disturb communal harmony. Photographs and videos of identified locations were transmitted to handlers in Pakistan for operational planning.
The financial trail was traced through UPI scanner transactions routed through accounts belonging to individuals working in Dubai, with funds ultimately reaching conduits associated with the syndicate. Arif had purchased a Jigana pistol from Gujjar for Rs 1 lakh through this route. The group later moved into smuggling heroin from Punjab into Delhi and the NCR, using a dead-drop delivery system to avoid detection. Anas and Karanveer were deputed to Punjab to facilitate this operation.
Investigators also found that gangster Deepak Agrola, lodged in Mandoli Jail and facing 23 prior cases, including murder and dacoity, was introduced to Gujjar by Anas. Agrola used a mobile phone smuggled into jail, later recovered by jail staff, to coordinate the procurement of illegal weapons through his associate Jatan.
This is not the first time Shahzad Bhatti’s network has surfaced in Delhi Police investigations. Additional Commissioner of Police Pramod Singh Kushwaha had earlier confirmed that Bhatti, a Pakistani national, was operating at the behest of Pakistan’s intelligence agency and had directed an attack involving a hand grenade thrown at the Gurdaspur City Police Station. Investigators have established that Bhatti, believed to operate between Pakistan and Dubai, uses Instagram, WhatsApp, and voice messages to recruit tech-savvy Indian youths with no prior criminal record, often teenagers or those in their early twenties, offering them money and a sense of importance in exchange for following instructions.
The recovery in the present case includes seven mobile phones containing voice notes and chats that directly link the accused to Bhatti and Gujjar, one Scorpio vehicle used by the syndicate, and details of multiple bank accounts used to route proceeds from arms and narcotics sales.
Police said legal action has been initiated against all seven accused. Efforts are underway to apprehend absconding associates, including Aamir, and to identify the intermediaries, suppliers, and recipients involved in the cross-border smuggling network. Further investigation is in progress to map the full extent of the conspiracy.
