'My 3,000 men roaming freely': Pakistan gangster challenges Modi government
What's the story
Pakistan-based gangster-turned-terror operative Shahzad Bhatti has challenged the Indian government's claims of a major crackdown on his network. In a video, Bhatti said that around 3,000 of his men are still active across India after the government announced the detention of 253 alleged members of his network in coordinated operations across 14 states. The government also said IEDs, grenades bearing Pakistan Ordnance Factory markings, pistols, live cartridges, and CCTV cameras used for espionage were recovered from the ISI-funded group.
Arrest denial
Bhatti denies detainees were his associates
Bhatti denied that those arrested by Indian authorities were his associates. He claimed they were members of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).
In the video, Bhatti challenged the government to publicly identify the detainees and display the weapons allegedly recovered from them.
"If you have arrested 300, I have 3,000 who are roaming the streets freely," Bhatti said in the video.
Operation critique
Why operation launched now, asks Bhatti
Bhatti also questioned why the authorities launched the operation only now if his network had been active for several years.
He claimed that his network had been operating for five to six years and asked if security agencies and police failed to detect its activities earlier.
His remarks come at a sensitive time for the alleged network, which investigators say heavily relies on digital platforms for recruitment, propaganda, and communication.
Social media
Bhatti runs large network of social media accounts
According to NDTV, Bhatti runs a significant number of social media accounts, pages, sites, groups, and broadcast channels across Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, WhatsApp, and YouTube.
A scan of social media by NDTV Datafy found that more than two dozen accounts and pages with "Shahbaz Bhatti" in their usernames are active across these platforms.
Over one crore people follow these accounts and sites. However, this may only be a portion of Bhatti's online presence, it noted.