Jaipur/Jaisalmer: In a major counter-terror operation Friday, the state’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) conducted simultaneous raids across 20 cities of Rajasthan, detaining multiple suspects in an investigation into an alleged network linked to Pakistan-based terror operative Shehzad Bhatti.ATS SP Manish Tripathi said teams searched houses and questioned multiple suspects during the statewide operation. Several suspects picked up from Jaipur and other districts are being questioned about their social media accounts, ATS officials said. Their digital devices and online activities are under forensic examination.In the border district of Barmer, a 20-year-old man from Gagariya village under Ramsar police station area was detained based on intelligence shared by the ATS headquarters in Jaipur. Police and ATS officials are questioning him to ascertain the extent of his links with Bhatti and other members of the suspected network.Barmer SP Choonaram Jat said preliminary investigations indicate that the detainee was in continuous contact with Bhatti through online platforms.The operation targeted individuals suspected of maintaining contact with Bhatti through social media platforms. Investigators believe the network lured young people with promises of online gaming rewards, easy money and gangster glamour, before persuading them to send photographs and other information related to sensitive installations.ATS officials said Bhatti has been systematically targeting youths, particularly in Rajasthan’s border districts adjoining Pakistan. He is suspected of cultivating contacts online before attempting to recruit them for anti-India activities.Sources said the ATS has been tracking Bhatti’s online ecosystem for months, monitoring followers and suspected associates across social media platforms. Friday’s crackdown followed months of surveillance and intelligence gathering.Security agencies believe Bhatti’s network extends beyond Rajasthan to Haryana, Punjab, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Officials are also probing possible hawala channels used to fund anti-national activities and support sleeper-cell networks.Friday’s operation comes amid heightened concerns over widespread Pakistan-backed attempts to exploit social media for recruitment. Earlier this year, security agencies questioned several people in Hanumangarh and Sriganganagar over alleged links with Bhatti.Investigators are also revisiting intelligence gathered after the arrest of three terror suspects in Ambala in March this year. During interrogation, they are believed to have disclosed a plot to trigger blasts in Rajasthan using improvised explosive devices (IEDs), with explosives smuggled from Pakistan by drones.Investigators said the conspiracy was foiled before it could be executed.
