E-Paper
Pakistani gangster Shahzad Bhatti ‘coordinated' attack in Gurdaspur: Police reveal how he operates via social media
“Bhatti targeted young Indians on social media, luring them with money and an aura of gangster glorification,” says Delhi police officer
The Special Cell of Delhi Police has busted a “Pakistan-backed terror module” led by gangster Shahzad Bhatti from across the border, with the arrest of three men, officials said on Sunday, November 30.
“The module was involved in a November 25 grenade attack outside the city police station in Punjab's Gurdaspur, which was carried out on Bhatti’s instructions," ACP Pramod Singh Kushwah said, as per news agency PTI.
“Bhatti has been coordinating operations from Pakistan using encrypted platforms and social media channels,” he added. No major damage was caused by the blast, which local police at first linked to a “burst tyre”.
Who is Shahzad Bhatti?
Shahzad Bhatti, who is known to be extremely savvy with social media, made headlines in India last year too, after it came to light that Indian gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, lodged in a Gujarat jail, purportedly video-called him to give Eid wishes. That video had gone viral.
More recently, though, their relations appear to have soured. Lawrence's younger brother Anmol Bishnoi, recently extradited from the US, has said he could be murdered by Bhatti's men in India.
Also this month, after a grenade was thrown at the gates of a police station at Rania in Haryana's Sirsa district, Shahbaz Bhatti claimed responsibility for it. He said in a Facebook post that the police station “supported” his rival Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
Shahzad Bhatti ‘behind’ attack on police station
For the Gurdaspur blast, the three men arrested by Delhi Police are: Vikas Prajapati alias Betu, 19, of Datia in Madhya Pradesh; Hargunpreet Singh alias Gurkaranpreet Singh, 19, from Ferozpure in Punjab; and Asif alias Arish, 22, from Bijnaur in Uttar Pradesh.
Police seized a semi-automatic pistol, 10 live cartridges, and mobile phones containing “incriminating chats and reconnaissance videos” from them.
The ACP said a breakthrough came from a team tracking Bhatti's activities, including his online communications. It was found that Prajapati, wanted in an arms-smuggling case, was in frequent contact with Bhatti on social media.
Prajapati’s location kept shifting between Gurdaspur and Delhi, with Bhatti frequently instructing him to switch off his cellphone to avoid tracking, the officer said.
‘Lured with money, social media glory’
Prajapati allegedly told the police that he contacted Bhatti through social media after being influenced by his online persona. “Prajapati was arrested in Madhya Pradesh after a two-day manhunt. His interrogation revealed the module’s modus operandi," the ACP said.
“Bhatti and his Pakistan-based associates targeted young Indians on social media, luring them with money and an aura of gangster glorification,” the ACP said.
The Bhatti gang selected the recruits by scanning their online profiles, arranged payments digitally, and used them as “disposable foot soldiers for terror strikes”, the officer said.
Bhatti allegedly used Prajapati to receive an arms parcel in Gurdaspur, which contained a grenade.
On Bhatti's instructions, Prajapati conducted a recce of the Gurdaspur City police station, and the Town Hall police station in Amritsar, before handing over the grenade to Hargunpreet Singh and his associate.
During questioning, Hargunpreet allegedly confessed that he carried out the grenade attack on November 25 outside the Gurdaspur police station while riding pillion on a motorcycle driven by an associate.
The third accused, Asif, was also recruited via social media and had been instructed to prepare for another grenade attack in Punjab, for which Bhatti shared location maps and photographs with him, the officer said.
Shahzad Bhatti's Bishnoi gang connection
Last year, a video purportedly showing gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, lodged in Sabarmati Central Jail since August 2023, speaking to Pakistan-based Shahzad Bhatti on a video call went viral.
Lawrence Bishnoi, who is from the Indian Punjab province, is the alleged mastermind in singer Sidhu Moosewala’s murder in May 2022, besides other cases such as firing at actor Salman Khan’s Mumbai home.
In the 19-second video, Bishnoi was purportedly seen extending Eid wishes on a video call to Bhatti. Police later said the clip could be from another time, when he was in a jail outside Gujarat.
(with PTI inputs)
