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ATS questions 57 in Maharashtra over alleged gangster network links
The Maharashtra ATS interrogated 57 people across the state as part of an operation against networks allegedly linked to Pakistan-based gangsters, including the Shahzad Bhatti gang and the Dogra gang. Searches covered multiple cities, with seizures of devices and ongoing financial investigations to detect cross-border links and sleeper cells.
Why It Matters
The operation targets potential sleeper cells and cross-border networks, aiming to disrupt recruitment, funding, and conspiracies that could threaten regional security.
Timeline
6 Events
Bhatti gang and Dubai-based operations noted in investigations
May 13, 2026
The name of Bhatti, a Lahore-based gangster, has surfaced in investigations related to terror recruitment, radicalisation, and espionage in India; Bhatti has reportedly operated out of Dubai while traveling between Pakistan, the UAE, and the Middle East, with Indian agencies pursuing extradition.
Intelligence inputs on social media recruitment by cross-border gangsters
May 13, 2026
Intelligence inputs indicated that gangsters operating from across the border were using social media to recruit youths from Maharashtra; officials plan to question people allegedly in contact with these gangsters via social media or who are followers or sympathisers.
Number of detainees not disclosed; further interstate/international links under investigation
May 13, 2026
Officials did not disclose the number of persons detained; authorities said further investigation into interstate or international links of the suspected network is underway.
Digital evidence being analysed to map network extent
May 13, 2026
Digital evidence recovered during the searches is being analysed to establish the extent of the network and identify additional persons who may have been in contact with the gangsters.
Devices seized from locations linked to suspects
May 13, 2026
ATS teams seized laptops, mobile phones, pen drives, and other electronic devices from locations linked to suspects; investigators are examining bank accounts and financial transactions for possible routing of funds from Pakistan or other foreign locations through hawala channels.
ATS launches operation against suspected Pakistan-linked networks in Maharashtra
May 13, 2026
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad began the operation at around 8 a.m. on May 13, 2026, interrogating 57 persons across Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Nalasopara, Mira Road, Akola, Nanded, Nashik, and Jalgaon as part of an effort against networks allegedly linked to Pakistan-based gangsters, including the Shahzad Bhatti gang and the Dogra gang, to identify sleeper cells, local operatives, and support systems.