CHANDIGARH: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday conducted searches at 18 locations across Punjab and Haryana as part of its probe into three terror-gangster nexus cases linked to Pakistan-based terrorist Shahzad Bhatti.According to an NIA statement, teams carried out coordinated raids in nine districts across the two states and questioned several individuals to gather information relevant to the ongoing investigation.According to news agency ANI, during the searches, NIA investigators seized several digital devices, documents, and data related to communication networks, financial transactions, and the activities of individuals under scrutiny in the three cases.The agency said all material collected during the raids has been sent for detailed scrutiny, as well as forensic and technical analysis, to uncover the broader cross-border conspiracy behind the terror-gangster network.According to the anti-terror agency, notices have been served to several individuals directing them to join the investigation for further questioning. The move is part of the NIA’s ongoing efforts to uncover the larger conspiracy behind the cross-border terror-gangster network allegedly operated by gangster-turned-terrorist Bhatti. NIA said its searches were “focused on identifying Bhatti’s associates and others linked with the terror conspiracy related to all three cases.” NIA’s investigation so far in case has traced the March 2025 grenade attack at the residence of social media influencer Roger Sandhu in Punjab’s Jalandhar to Shahzad Bhatti. In April this year, NIA had chargesheeted Bhatti as an absconder, and one other accused in the case.The NIA said its investigation revealed that Bhatti had also orchestrated the explosion at the Women Police Station in Haryana’s Sirsa in November 2025 and the blast at the Baldev Nagar police station in Ambala in January 2026.In the Sirsa case, the agency filed a chargesheet against nine accused, including Bhatti and another Pakistan-based handler, Sohail Ahmad alias Sohail Baloch, in May 2026.The Baldev Nagar case pertains to a car bomb explosion, in which one of the arrested accused was found to have been in contact with Bhatti, according to investigators.The NIA said investigations into all three cases are ongoing as part of its efforts to identify and dismantle the entire terror network and trace all links connected to the attacks.(With agency inputs)
