New Delhi: The Special Cell of the Delhi Police has dismantled a Pakistan-backed international and interstate terror module allegedly run by gangster-turned-terrorist Shahzad Bhatti, resulting in the arrest of three key operatives.
An anonymous source alerted the Special Cell to the activities of the criminals.
The accused have been identified as Vikas Prajapati, alias Betu, resident of Datia, Madhya Pradesh; Hargunpreet Singh, alias Gurkaranpreet, resident of Kohala, Firozpur, Punjab; and Asif, alias Arish, resident of Macchmaar, Bijnaur, Uttar Pradesh.
According to the police, the arrested men were allegedly involved in the 25 November grenade attack outside the City Police Station in Gurdaspur, Punjab. The arrests were carried out by an Eastern Range team led by Inspectors Rahul Kumar and Vineet Kumar Tewatia, under the supervision of DCP Amit Kaushik and ACP Kailash Singh Bisht.
Police recovered a semi-automatic pistol, 10 live cartridges and mobile phones containing incriminating chats with foreign handlers, including reconnaissance videos of potential targets.
Investigators found that the module was remotely directed from Pakistan, where Bhatti recruited young Indians through social media by offering quick money. He allegedly oversaw surveillance, logistics, payments and target selection from abroad, using recruits as expendable foot soldiers to execute attacks in India.
Accused Prajapati, already wanted in an arms-smuggling case, had been in frequent contact with Bhatti via Instagram.
After a 48-hour pursuit, he was traced and arrested in Indergarh, Datia. During interrogation, he stated that he had collected a parcel in Gurdaspur containing a grenade, received payment on confirmation, and conducted reconnaissance of police sites before giving the grenade to Singh and an associate, and arranging a motorcycle for the operation.
Singh allegedly carried out the attack by throwing the grenade outside the Gurdaspur City Police Station while riding with an accomplice.
Asif, who had been in contact with Bhatti for over two months, was told to await further instructions for a future attack. Legal proceedings have been initiated against all three accused, and efforts are underway to apprehend additional suspects linked to the module.