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Despite repeated arrests and crackdowns by security agencies, investigators have found that the recruitment pipeline linked to Pakistan-based gangster-turned-terror operative Shahzad Bhatti remains active, with western Uttar Pradesh emerging as a key hunting ground for fresh recruits.
According to sources familiar with the investigation, law enforcement agencies have arrested several operatives linked to the network over the past few months. Many others have been identified, questioned and placed under surveillance as part of preventive measures. Police have also reached out to families of vulnerable youths, counselling them and warning them about online radicalisation and recruitment attempts. However, investigators say the challenge is no longer limited to dismantling individual modules. The bigger concern is the steady creation of what officials describe as "foot soldiers", referring to young recruits tasked with low-risk but strategically important assignments. Unlike traditional terror recruitment, these individuals are often not asked to carry weapons or participate in violent acts initially. Instead, they are allegedly used for reconnaissance, collecting photographs and videos of sensitive locations, arranging SIM cards, facilitating digital communications and passing logistical information to handlers operating from abroad. Sources indicate that a significant number of those identified in recent investigations belong to districts in western Uttar Pradesh, including Ghaziabad, Meerut, Saharanpur and Mathura. Investigators believe the network specifically targets tech-savvy youths, mobile repair technicians, CCTV operators and individuals facing financial difficulties. Officials say the recruitment model relies heavily on social media platforms and encrypted messaging applications. Recruits are often approached with promises of easy money and are gradually assigned increasingly sensitive tasks without fully understanding the larger security implications. Security agencies are particularly concerned that every arrest has been followed by fresh recruitment attempts, suggesting that the network is operating through a decentralised structure. Even after key operatives are detained, handlers based outside India appear capable of identifying and cultivating new contacts. As part of counter-measures, police have intensified outreach programmes involving local communities and family members. Investigators believe parental awareness and community intervention could play a crucial role in disrupting the recruitment cycle before vulnerable youths become active assets for hostile networks. Officials describe the battle as one extending beyond arrests and seizures. The focus has now shifted to breaking the recruitment chain itself, as agencies work to prevent foreign-based handlers from turning ordinary young Indians into digital foot soldiers operating on behalf of anti-India networks. (ANI)
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