Intelligence agencies have sounded a high alert in Punjab over a suspected plan by the Shahzad Bhatti network to target military installations in Amritsar, with a sensitive intelligence input naming two Pakistan-based operatives and warning of a possible attack on an Army establishment in the district.
The input, shared with Punjab Police and other security agencies, names two alleged Pakistan-based operatives, identified as Rana Bhai and Malik. It claims that reconnaissance of Khasa Cantonment in Amritsar and the Budha Theh military establishment near Beas has already been carried out. Investigators had suspected that the explosion was part of a planned attack. However, no link has been established between that incident and the latest intelligence input concerning the Shahzad Bhatti network.
Because khasa Cantonment witnessed a blast just months ago, the alert assumes added significance. On May 5, a low-intensity explosion took place near the cantonment’s boundary wall.
Punjab Police later said an IED had been used in the blast, damaging a tin sheet along the perimeter.
The National Investigation Agency has been probing multiple cases involving the Bhatti network. The agency has also conducted searches in Punjab and Haryana in connection with Pakistan-based terror cases allegedly linked to Bhatti. His name has surfaced in investigations involving attacks, recruitment and the movement of arms and explosives into Punjab.
