Follow us on Google News
New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over the investigation into two terror conspiracy cases registered in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh involving allegations that handlers based in Pakistan used social media to radicalize and recruit Indian youth for violent attacks. Security agencies suspect the handlers targeted young individuals through online platforms, offering financial incentives, passports, and relocation to Dubai to execute attacks across the country.
The first case relates to a petrol bomb attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party office on Udhali Road in Sangrur, Punjab, on July 26, 2026. Punjab Police had arrested Happy Singh and Jaspreet Singh in connection with the incident. Preliminary findings indicated a suspected conspiracy by the Khalistan Liberation Army, with investigators discovering that the accused had been contacted via social media by a handler operating from the neighbouring country. Following these revelations, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs handed the probe over to the NIA to examine the wider conspiracy, foreign links, digital communications, and recruitment methods.
Uttar Pradesh ATS Case and Alleged ISI Links
The second case was registered by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) in April 2026 following intelligence inputs that Pakistan-based handlers were radicalizing Indian youth via social media to carry out terror strikes. The First Information Report names Meerut resident Tushar Chauhan, alias Hizbullah Ali Khan, Old Seemapuri resident Sameer from Delhi, and several individuals believed to be based in Pakistan, including Shahzad Bhatti, Mohammad Hamad Barkati, Abid Jatt, Major Hameed, Major Iqbal, and Major Anwar, who are alleged to be operatives linked to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
Uttar Pradesh ATS arrested Tushar Chauhan and Sameer and recovered arms and ammunition from their possession. Investigators found that one of the accused communicated with handlers in Pakistan via messaging applications, where he was allegedly tasked with executing targeted attacks.
Money, Passports, and Dubai Relocation Offered
According to investigators, Shahzad Bhatti allegedly instructed the accused to hurl grenades at the residences of certain Hindu leaders and assassinate them. The accused was reportedly offered Rs 50,000 in advance and promised Rs 2.50 lakh upon completing the attack, alongside assurances of a passport and relocation to Dubai in the future.
The probe has also pointed to the alleged involvement of Pakistani gangsters Shahzad Bhatti and Abid Jatt, along with certain radical Pakistani YouTubers, acting at the behest of the ISI to influence young Indians online. Agencies suspect that handlers used social media content and private messages to identify vulnerable youths and gradually draw them into the terror network through financial inducements.
NIA to Probe Cross-State Network Connections
With both cases now under its purview, the NIA is expected to examine potential links between the Punjab and Uttar Pradesh conspiracies to determine whether a single syndicate, common foreign handlers, or a shared recruitment mechanism operated behind both plots. Investigators will analyze seized digital devices, social media accounts, encrypted chats, and financial transactions to trace the full scale of the network.
The agency also faces the task of identifying how many young people were approached or recruited across these states and whether similar plots were underway elsewhere in India. While the allegations remain under formal investigation, the NIA probe aims to uncover deeper details regarding the foreign handlers and their operational network.
