New Delhi : Indian security agencies arrested 700 individuals linked to proscribed terrorist Shahzad Bhatti, stalling major subversion plans including surveillance installations at crowded locations, targeted attacks, and cross-border drug smuggling, officials have said.

Dismantling the Bhatti network was among the most challenging operations undertaken by Indian investigative agencies in recent times.

Despite breaking the primary operational grid, intelligence authorities warned that the terror module is actively attempting a comeback by changing its recruitment strategy.

So far, around 700 people have been arrested on suspicion of working for Bhatti.

The operation carried out by security agencies thwarted several plans hatched by the Bhatti module. These included installing CCTV cameras at sensitive and crowded locations, carrying out targeted killings, and trafficking in drugs and counterfeit currency.

An official said that security agencies had largely dismantled the network, but the cat-and-mouse game with its remaining operatives was continuing.

“To date, over 100 takedown requests of Instagram profiles linked to this network have been sent to Meta. As the profiles are being taken down, over 50 new ones appear. This is, in fact, a big challenge for the agencies,” the official said.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that in this second push that is being made by the Bhatti network, a lot of emphasis is being given on defending religious honour. When the network was first set up, the recruitment was not religious-centric. Youth were recruited from across religions, and money played a very big role.

A youth could be picked up and asked to undertake a task for as little as Rs 5,000. These youth were also shown pictures of Bhatti and his associates posing in front of expensive cars and luxury homes. The handlers sold a dream to the youth, and this worked massively.

In reality, it was just bait, and the Bhatti network never had any plans to fulfil its promises regarding a fancy lifestyle that it made to the youth at the time of recruitment, the official said.

Intelligence agencies tracking Bhatti said that after the first crackdown that led to hundreds of arrests, Bhatti had been shifted to Pakistan. This decision was taken after the Indian government declared him a proscribed terrorist under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

However, he has travelled to Dubai and Portugal in recent months and remains actively involved in overseeing the module and devising fresh strategies for operations in India.

Another official said Bhatti was now seeking to combine religion, money and lifestyle incentives in his next recruitment drive, with a greater emphasis on religious identity.

“This is a deliberate ploy. By invoking religious sentiments, the amount of money offered to recruits would be relatively small. The idea is to exploit the religious sentiments of young people during the recruitment process,” the official said.

Those youth who would be recruited for paltry amounts, which would be as low as Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000, are being promised better lives in Dubai, Pakistan or Nepal.

Investigations show that the Bhatti network has prepared fake passports for several youths so that they could escape from India after a big hit-job is carried out, the official added.

“While the religious push would be much higher this time, the overall strategy remains the same — pay less and recruit more. Bhatti does not want to build just a network in India, but wants to create an army of youths who would fight for a religious cause,” officials say.

The module’s operational brief is no longer limited to installing CCTV cameras, trafficking in drugs and circulating counterfeit currency. The network is seeking to expand its reach and intensify its activities. Police have linked the Bhatti network to attacks targeting police personnel in Punjab, the blast outside the Border Security Force (BSF) headquarters in Jalandhar, and a petrol bomb attack on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) headquarters in Jharkhand.

The operations that the network is planning are on similar lines, but the scale would be much larger. Platforms such as Instagram would continue to be used for radicalisation and putting out hate messages against India. Planning and execution of high-intensity attacks would be done extensively on encrypted messaging platforms such as Telegram, an official said.

Bengaluru : A cab driver arrested for allegedly killing seven members of his wife’s family in Bengaluru has told police that he committed the gruesome crime following years of mental harassment by his wife and her family members, police said on Friday. The accused, Indushekar, allegedly claimed during interrogation that his wife had harassed him for nearly 20 years and that her family members had always supported her. He reportedly narrated incidents of alleged mental harassment over a long period while being questioned by the police. The shocking incident has sent shockwaves across Karnataka, with seven members of the same family, including the accused’s wife, a child, his mother-in-law and other relatives, allegedly murdered over a period of about 15 days. Indushekar, a cab driver, was arrested by the Rajajinagar police in connection with the case.

The deceased have been identified as his wife Suneeta, brothers-in-law Shivakumar and Shankar, Shivakumar’s wife Divya, their son Puneeth, Shankar’s wife Nalini and his mother-in-law Roopavathi. According to the police investigation, the accused allegedly invited the family members to his rented house on the pretext of hosting a meal of mutton dishes. He allegedly mixed sleeping tablets in the food and, after the victims became unconscious, attacked them using a grinding stone and other means. Police sources said the accused transported the bodies in his car and disposed of them at different locations. The accused had been living in a rented house near Bhashyam Circle for the past eight years. He had also reportedly filed a case against the owner of the building. During interrogation, Indushekar allegedly told police that he and his wife frequently quarrelled and that she treated him as a “useless man”. He also allegedly claimed that her family members always supported her during their disputes. However, family members of the victims have rejected his claims and raised questions over the killing of the other relatives.

“If he was unhappy with his wife, why did he want to kill the others?” family members asked, alleging that the murders could have been motivated by a property dispute. According to the family members, they received a message stating that the family was going on a three-day trip to the Hogenakkal area and that there was no need for them to worry. As the message came during the Dasara festival period, they initially did not suspect anything. The relatives said they waited until last Thursday and repeatedly tried to contact the family, but their calls went unanswered. When they went to Indushekar’s house, they found it locked. Police are also examining the circumstances surrounding messages allegedly sent to the victims’ relatives to create the impression that the family had gone on a trip.

The accused’s daughter had also allegedly called other family members to her house, saying that she wanted to have good food as her mother had gone on a trip. The case came to light after family members became suspicious about the prolonged absence of the victims. During questioning, Indushekar allegedly gave contradictory statements, following which police searched his residence and reportedly found clues linked to the murders. The body of Puneeth was recovered near Nandi Hills in Chikkaballapur district after police took the accused to the area for a search operation. Efforts are continuing to trace the bodies of the remaining victims. Police have also seized the car allegedly used to transport the bodies. Investigators are examining the complete sequence of events, including the alleged motive behind the killings. Senior police officers are supervising the investigation, and a special team has been formed to trace the remaining bodies and collect evidence. Further investigation is underway.

President Droupadi Murmu on Friday expressed grief over the loss of seven lives in a road accident in Jharkhand’s Khunti district and extended condolences to the bereaved families.

“The news of the deaths in the road accident that occurred in Khunti district of Jharkhand is extremely heartbreaking. I express my deepest condolences to the bereaved families. I pray for the swift recovery of those injured in this accident,” President Murmu posted on X.

The accident occurred in Karra village of Khunti district around 10 p.m. on Thursday near the Jone-Ludru turn on the Karra-Torpa main road. A scooter had met with an accident, following which local residents gathered along the roadside to help the rider.

During this time, an 18-wheeler trailer truck, reportedly speeding from the Torpa side, allegedly ran over the people who had gathered at the spot.

Six people died on the spot, while a 12-year-old boy succumbed to his injuries during treatment at Khunti Sadar Hospital. A young girl was also injured in the accident.

Anger erupted among villagers in Khunti district on Friday morning following the accident.

Enraged residents blocked the main road near the Karra railway crossing by burning tyres, bringing vehicular movement in the area to a complete halt.

The protesters demanded the immediate arrest of the trailer truck driver allegedly responsible for the accident, government jobs for the families of the deceased and adequate compensation for the victims’ kin.

The protesters claimed that poor visibility and the condition of the road at the Jone-Ludru turn significantly increase the risk of accidents. They also alleged that despite the stretch being accident-prone, heavy vehicles frequently pass through the area at high speeds.

The villagers demanded stronger road safety measures at the accident-prone stretch to prevent such incidents in the future.

Following information about the road blockade, police and administrative officials reached the spot and held talks with the demonstrators in an effort to restore normalcy. Authorities assured the protesters that all possible assistance and compensation would be provided to the affected families in accordance with government provisions.

Additional police personnel were deployed in the area as a precautionary measure amid rising tensions.