Chandigarh, June 9
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday carried out a series of searches across Punjab and Haryana as part of its ongoing investigation into an alleged terror and organised crime network with suspected links across the border.
NIA teams conducted coordinated raids at 18 locations spread across nine districts in the two states. During the operation, investigators questioned several people and gathered information that could help them piece together the activities of the network being examined in three separate cases.
Officials said the agency seized mobile phones, digital devices, documents and other materials that may provide clues about communication channels, financial transactions and the movements of individuals suspected to be connected to the network. The evidence collected during the searches will now undergo forensic and technical analysis as investigators try to establish the full extent of the alleged conspiracy.
The agency has also issued notices to some individuals, asking them to join the investigation for further questioning. According to officials, the searches were aimed at identifying people believed to have links with Pakistan-based Shahzad Bhatti, who is alleged to have operated a network through local associates in northern India.
One of the key cases being investigated is the grenade attack on the residence of social media influencer Roger Sandhu in Jalandhar in March 2025. Investigators believe the attack was carried out by individuals linked to the network overseen by Bhatti from across the border. As the investigation progressed, the NIA said it gathered evidence connecting him to the incident. In April this year, the agency filed the chargesheet against Bhatti, naming him as an absconder in the case.
The investigation has also linked Bhatti to other incidents in Haryana. Officials said that he played a role in planning the explosion at a women police station in Sirsa in November 2025 and blast at Baldev Nagar police station in Ambala in January 2026.
In the Sirsa case, the NIA filed charges against nine individuals, including Bhatti and another Pakistan-based suspect, Sohail Ahmad, also known as Sohail Baloch. Investigators claim the accused were part of a larger network involved in planning and facilitating attacks.
The Ambala case centres on a car bomb explosion. According to the agency, one of the arrested suspects had been in contact with Bhatti before the blast, a development investigators consider significant in establishing links between the incidents.
The NIA said inquiries in all three cases are continuing. Investigators are working to identify additional members of the network, trace financial and operational connections, and understand how the alleged conspiracy was organised and executed.
The latest searches are part of broader efforts by security agencies to crack down on cross border terror activities and dismantle networks that are believed to operate through a combination of local contacts and handlers based outside India.
