New Delhi, June 17 (IANS) The ISI has managed to stitch together a well-oiled network of gangsters to carry out attacks in India. The name of Shahzad Bhatti has cropped up in several cases that the police are investigating.

Officials say that while Bhatti runs the show of planning and execution, his close aide, Ajmal Gujjar, is in charge of the smuggling network. Gujjar operates out of Pakistan and is a key player in this racket, officials also say.

Gujjar operates under the ISI and was roped in to assist Bhatti. An Intelligence Bureau official says that both Bhatti and Gujjar run the network that has been tasked with carrying out attacks in India. Bhatti, who was an influencer before being roped in by the ISI, handles all operations on social media. Using his experience, he has used multiple social media platforms to recruit youth. During the recruitment, he promises the youth fame and money, the official pointed out.

Gujjar, on the other hand, is an operations man. He oversees the smuggling of arms and ammunition meant for this network. The security agencies have found that his activities have gone up considerably in the last couple of months. On Tuesday, the Special Cell of the Delhi Police busted a terror module and arrested seven persons.

Like the module that was busted in May, this one too was operating under Bhatti and Gujjar.
Another official said that Gujjar has been trying to push arms into India from Pakistan. While smuggling arms into India from Pakistan has not been easy, Gujjar has managed to use the underworld network within the country to supply arms to the youth that Bhatti recruited. This network has also made multiple attempts to drop off arms, ammunition and narcotics using drones. Most of the drop-offs have taken place at the Punjab border, officials have learnt.

What has worried the agencies is that both Bhatti and Gujjar have managed to set up multiple modules in and around Delhi. This only signals that they have managed to rope in scores of youth in these parts of the country. The idea is not to have just one or two modules. Gujjar and Bhatti have planned operations to have over 20 different modules in various parts of the country. They want to ensure that their operations continue successfully even if a few of their modules are busted.

An official said that dismantling the entire network is a Herculean task for the security agencies. Bhatti and Gujjar are showing no signs of stopping and would continue until they manage to undertake a couple of major strikes. The official said his network seems determined and is showing no signs of giving up. Moreover, they are also under pressure from the ISI to set up a massive homegrown terror network in India. This fits the ISI’s larger plans of having local youth carry out attacks in India and ensuring that the trail does not lead back to Pakistan, the official added.

The Bhatti-Gujjar syndicate is also not undertaking recruitments based on religion. It does not matter to them which religion the recruits belong to. The only intention is to carry out attacks. These attacks include targeted killings, mass shootings at crowded locations, including temples. This is not an ideology-driven module. It works with money. This explains why it has been easier for the Bhatti-Gujjar syndicate to recruit with such ease.

Before recruitment, Bhatti and his team scout for people on social media. They study the financial situation of these persons before opening up a communication channel with them. Once the bait is set, the payments are made upfront, and then the job is explained to them. Since this syndicate pays handsomely, the youth are more than willing to join.

An official said that it is money over ideology, and religion is not a factor they take into account while carrying out recruitment, the official also noted.

–IANS

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