STF arrests Assam man, 21, for links with Pak-based Shahzad Bhatti terror group

A 21-year-old man from Assam’s Hailakandi district was arrested on Wednesday for his alleged links with the Pakistan-based Shahzad Bhatti Network (SBN), police said.

The Assam police’s Special Task Force (STF), in a joint operation with Hailakandi district police, arrested Fazal Islam Barbhuiyan from the Ramnathpur area.

On July 25, the STF arrested three men: Akramul Islam (26) of Dhubri, Aminur Rahman (22) of Chirang, and Abdul Hussain (54) of Barpeta. Their mobile phones, Aadhaar cards, bank passbooks, and a large amount of tampered religious scripts were seized, officials said.

On Wednesday, the STF posted on X, “Following leads from earlier arrests in (STF PS Case No. 06/2026) STF, Assam, jointly with Hailakandi District Police, apprehended Fazal Islam Barbhuiyan (21), an alleged operative of the Pakistan-based Shahzad Bhatti Network (SBN), from Ramnathpur, Hailakandi, in the early hours of 26 August 2026.”

“With this apprehension, the total number of arrests has risen to four (04), with the earlier three arrests made from Dhubri, Chirang, and Barpeta districts,” it added.

The superintendent of police (SP), STF, Pranab Kumar Pegu said the accused’s name came up during interrogations in the July case, and police kept a vigil on him and his actions.

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“We cannot share many details for the sake of investigation, but we found incriminating documents from him and his mobile phone records suggest he was in contact with terrorist groups through various social media platforms, including Instagram,” Pegu told HT.

Pegu added that the STF had evidence that Pakistan-based groups were contacting locals through social media platforms and trying to brainwash them with incriminating documents; this was part of a plan to activate sleeper cells in Assam.

After Wednesday’s arrest, Pegu said that the STF is keeping strict vigil on social media activities in Assam and further arrests were possible.

The investigation into the network began with an arrest in Nalbari in May during an operation based on intelligence inputs about alleged links between local residents and the Pakistan-based network.

On August 17, Union home minister Amit Shah said that ISI-backed terror group SBN planned subversive attacks ahead of Independence Day but the security forces thwarted the plans by arresting more than 200 operatives from 14 states across the country.

“Indian security forces ripped apart the network by launching coordinated operations across different locations in 14 states upholding a brilliant example of India’s zero-tolerance towards terrorism,” he wrote on X.

On July 25 STF said that SBN conducted its activities through encrypted communication systems, maintaining ties with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), at the behest of Pakistan-based anti-India forces.

“SBN is directly connected to Pakistan’s ISI, and its activities were noticed in other states like Punjab. It is suspected that they were trying to create a network in Assam and the Northeast,” officials said.

Pegu said that Hailakandi is near the India-Bangladesh border and police are investigating if the groups from Bangladesh are also trying to make contacts with locals. He said that Fazal Islam Barbhuiyan is currently undergoing questioning and further probe is underway.