Delhi Police arrests 482 gangsters, busts Shahzad Bhatti-linked network in 48-hour crackdown

Delhi Police has arrested 482 alleged gangsters and associates, including nine operatives linked to Pakistan-based gangster Shahzad Bhatti, during a 48-hour pan-Delhi operation targeting organised crime syndicates and their support networks, an official said on Thursday.

Delhi Police has arrested 482 alleged gangsters and associates, including nine operatives linked to Pakistan-based gangster Shahzad Bhatti, during a 48-hour pan-Delhi operation targeting organised crime syndicates and their support networks, an official said on Thursday. The operation, ''Gang Bust 2.0'', was carried out jointly by district police units and the Special Cell from 8 am on May 5 to 8 am on May 7 across Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, he said. According to Delhi Police, the operation focused on dismantling organised criminal syndicates and disrupting alleged terror-crime nexuses linked to Pakistan's ISI. ''The strategies adopted during the earlier 'Gang Bust 1.0' operation were refined to make targeting more nuanced and specific. A new dimension was added to the effort by taking cognisance of the organised crime-terror/anti-national nexus,'' Additional Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Pramod Singh Kushwah said in a statement. The police said the Special Cell arrested nine alleged members of the Shahzad Bhatti network, which investigators claim was involved in recruiting foot soldiers through social media platforms for anti-national activities. The arrested accused were identified as Shoyab Khan and Ravi Kashyap from Amroha, Anmol Rai from Tikamgarh in Madhya Pradesh, Imtiyaz Khan from Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir, Rizwan Khan from Rampur in Uttar Pradesh, Jasbir Singh from Ferozepur in Punjab, Jaskaran Singh from Moga in Punjab, Satara Singh from Amritsar in Punjab and Manoj from Banaskantha in Gujarat. According to the police, the accused were tasked with carrying out random firing at security personnel in north India and the Delhi-NCR region. Some of them were allegedly involved in arms trafficking for the Shahzad Bhatti network. The police also conducted 44 preventive detentions and questioning of suspected foot soldiers linked to the network during the operation. ''On the conventional organised crime front, Delhi Police conducted raids at 1,014 locations linked to gangsters, shooters, financiers, SIM card suppliers, arms suppliers, vehicle providers, shelter operators and social media handlers associated with criminal syndicates,'' said the Additional CP Kushwah. The crackdown led to the seizure of 141 pistols, 212 cartridges, 79 knives, 24 vehicles, Rs 19 lakh in cash, 31 mobile phones, 19 kilograms of narcotic substances and 1,234 small of liquor, police said. Zone-I, comprising eight districts, recorded 120 arrests and 167 raids, while Zone-II, comprising seven districts, accounted for 346 arrests and 537 raids. The Special Cell made 15 arrests and carried out 310 raids, Kushwah added. The police said the operation targeted several major gangs operating in and around Delhi. Besides the Shahzad Bhatti network, seven members of the Kapil Sangwan alias Nandu gang, four members each of the Sandeep Kala Jathedi and Saddam Gauri gangs, and three members each linked to the Hashim Baba, Tillu and Kaushal Chaudhary gangs were arrested. The police also arrested two members linked to the Naveen Bali-Neeraj Bawana gang and one member each associated with the Jitender Mann alias Gogi, Arsh Dala, Chheenu and Nasir gangs. A total of 443 persons associated with other gangs were also arrested during the operation, police added.