Overview
- The ATS has widened an active investigation that began with statewide questioning of suspected contacts and now focuses on digital and financial evidence to establish networks and intent.
- The agency conducted focused searches in Pune district and Pimpri‑Chinchwad on Tuesday, July 14, searching about 65 locations and questioning 66 people there as part of coordinated statewide actions.
- Authorities say Shahzad Bhatti used social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and WhatsApp to identify and influence vulnerable youths and that some suspects were reportedly offered money to carry out tasks.
- Officers have seized mobile phones, chat histories, call detail records and bank data and say no arrests have been made yet because further legal steps depend on forensic analysis of those devices and transactions.
- Intelligence sources and earlier probes link Bhatti to an alleged state-by-state recruitment strategy and to other cases under investigation, which raises broader national security concerns if forensic evidence confirms operational ties.